For 30 years, while Azerbaijani territories were under occupation, fruitless negotiations were repeatedly held, and France, Russia, and the United States, as co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group and with a mandate to achieve peace and liberate our territories from occupation, were unable to force Armenia to withdraw from Azerbaijani territory, stated Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, speaking at the opening of the 2026 Annual Meetings of the Islamic Development Bank Group in Baku.
The Nalchik Garrison Military Court sentenced a serviceman named Elberdov to five years in prison. He was accused of unauthorized abandonment of his unit under Part 5 of Article 337 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
According to investigators, on August 9, 2024, Elberdov failed to show up for duty at his military unit without good reason. At the end of November, he was discovered by a police officer in the village of Kishpek in the Baksan District of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic.
The defendant admitted his guilt and expressed regret for what he had done. However, this did not help - he was sentenced to five years in prison.
Previously, the Nalchik Garrison Military Court had already sentenced contract soldiers and mobilized personnel to real prison terms many times. In particular, Algiz Valitov received two years in prison, and Amerkhan Kurskiyev received five years. Arsen Baev and Murat Khapov were sentenced to seven and five years in prison, respectively.