President Recep Tayyip Erdigan of Turkey in Vilnius, Lithuania on July 12

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey said that in 2025 Russian peacekeeping forces must leave “Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region.”

He explained that the November 9, 2020 agreement signed by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia stipulated a five-year term for the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Karabakh.

“In 2025 Russia must leave that region. It is written in the agreement and I am confident that Russia will adhere to it,” Erdogan said during a press conference on the margins of the NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuanian.

Despite Erdogan’s assertion, Turkey’s closest ally Azerbaijan has continuously violated the November 9, 2020 agreement that the Turkish president referenced. For seven months, Azerbaijan has blockaded Artsakh by closing the Lachin Corridor and setting up an illegal checkpoint at the entrance on the Hakari Bridge.

On Tuesday, Azerbaijan completely blocked access to the road to the International Committee of the Red Cross, accusing the international organization of abetting the smuggling of goods from Armenia to Artsakh.