Baku (AFP) – When Russian troops deployed to Nagorno-Karabakh four years ago, their task was clear: keep the peace between bitter foes Armenia and Azerbaijan and prevent another war in the volatile region.

But as Azerbaijani forces swept through mountainous Karabakh last September and crushed Armenian separatist forces in a matter of hours, the Russian mission looked lost.

The Kremlin this week quietly confirmed that the peacekeepers were withdrawing, taking with them their weapons and hardware, as well as Russian clout from a region it long considered its own backyard.

“We are witnessing a historic process – Russians are leaving for the first time in two centuries,” independent Azerbaijani analyst Elhan Shahinoglu told AFP.

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“Russia has once again betrayed the Armenian people and sold us out. That’s it,” said Valery Harutyunyan, who lived in Karabakh before fleeing to Armenia in September.

“We can’t rely on the Russians again. It’s impossible. We should kick Russians out – not only from Karabakh – but also from Armenia,” he told AFP.