Azernews.Az

BAKU – Protesters attempted to picket the Russian embassy in Baku Monday to condemn Moscow’s military cooperation with arch-foe Armenia, just days after the two countries signed a deal extending Russian military presence in the South Caucasus republic.

50 to 60 members of the Garabagh Liberation Organization (GLO) and the Human Freedoms and Rights Protection Society chanted slogans saying "Russia, get your hands off Karabakh" and "Russia, don’t support aggressor Armenia".

20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territory, including Nagorno Karabakh and seven adjacent districts, has been under Armenian occupation since the two South Caucasus republics signed a precarious cease-fire in 1994 following a lengthy war. Peace talks have been largely fruitless so far but are still ongoing. Russia, along with France and the United States, is a member of the mediating OSCE Minsk Group.

Since the protest had not been sanctioned by the executive authorities of Baku, the police prevented the protesters from advancing toward the embassy compound.

The pickets were not allowed to approach the building and to submit a statement to the mission, however, they were able to read out the statement.

The protesters believe Russia should be declared "an undesirable state" for Azerbaijan and estranged from co-chairmanship in the OSCE Minsk Group. They also demanded shutting down the Russian embassy in Azerbaijan and preventing President Dmitry Medvedev’s expected visit to the country.

Russian and Armenian Presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Serzh Sargsyan last Friday signed a deal extending Moscow's lease of the Gyumri base in western Armenia. Russia had been set to vacate the base in 2020. However, the new agreement, signed during President Medvedev’s visit to Yerevan, updates the 1995 treaty, extending Russia’s basing rights by 24 years until 2044. The protocol, inked following Medvedev-Sargsyan talks, also commits Russia to updating Armenia's military hardware and ensuring both countries' security. Azerbaijan has called on Moscow to honor previous agreements on not using arms at the Gyumri base against it.