Azerbaijan, Baku, 15 April / Trend corr E. Huseynli / Azerbaijani peacekeepers, withdrawn from Kosovo, have arrived Azerbaijan on 15 April.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev applied to the Parliament to withdraw the Azerbaijani peacekeepers from Kosovo. At the beginning of March, the Azerbaijani Parliament decided to withdraw the Azerbaijani peacekeepers from Kosovo due to the political situation which emerged in Kosovo after it separated from Serbia and proclaimed a one-sided independence.
In 1997, a peacekeeping detachment was formed at the National Army of Azerbaijan. A peacekeeping battalion was later established. The number of Armed Forces of Azerbaijan in Iraq totalled 150 soldiers and 34 in Kosovo. The Azerbaijani soldiers controlled 18 villages in Kosovo. Over 400 Azerbaijani soldiers served in Kosovo. The Azerbaijani peacekeeping detachment in Kosovo is operating within the Turkey's Armed Forces. There are 45 Azerbaijani peacekeepers in Afghanistan, who patrol Kabul.
On 17 Feb Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia. The official Belgrade is not going to recognize Kosovo's independence. Several countries including US, Great Britain, Germany, France and Turkey have already recognized its independence. Russia, Spain, China, Greece and Georgia support Belgrade's position. Azerbaijan also does not support Kosovo's independence as well.
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