Russian peacekeepers offer flowers to Armenians

Russian peacekeepers offered flowers to women in Nagorno-Karabakh ahead of International Women's day on Sunday.

The soldiers also carried out demining work in the disputed area.

Under the peace deal brokered by Russia between Armenia and Azerbaijan after weeks of armed conflict, Russia has deployed about 2,000 peacekeepers to Nagorno-Karabakh for five years.

The Nov. 10 peace deal ended 44 days of hostilities in which the Azerbaijani army routed Armenian forces and reclaimed control over large parts of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas.

Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said 2,783 troops were killed and more than 100 are still missing.

Armenia's Health Ministry reported at least 2,718 Armenian servicemen killed in the fighting.

Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but was under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. That war left Nagorno-Karabakh itself and substantial surrounding territory in Armenian hands.

Hostilities flared up in late September and the Azerbaijani military pushed deep into Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas in six weeks of fighting involving heavy artillery and drones that left more than 6,000 people dead on both sides.