The Kremlin will likely cite Russia’s “peacekeeping mission” in Nagorno-Karabakh in its 2021 bid to legitimize the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) as a United Nations (UN)-recognized peacekeeping force. The CSTO stated it plans to conduct negotiations with the UN in 2021 to hold CSTO peacekeeping operations under the UN’s auspices. This stated effort aligns with the Kremlin’s assessed campaign to leverage the UN to justify Russia’s international military deployments—an important hybrid war capability the Kremlin is developing.
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George Barros: Putin’s ‘peacekeepers’ will support Russian wars
A house burns in a village outside the town of Kalbajar, on Nov. 14, 2020, after a peace agreement was signed to end the military conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
