Turkey, Russia agree on terms of joint center to monitor truce in Nagorno-Karabakh

ANKARA

Turkey has announced that an agreement was reached with Russia on the technical details of a joint center soon to be established to monitor the ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

“A memorandum of understanding was signed after the completion of the talks on the technical details concerning the establishment and working procedures of the Turkish-Russian Joint Center. Necessary works continue for the activation of the center as soon as possible,” read a statement issue by the Turkish Defense Ministry on Dec. 1.

The statement recalled that Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu signed on Nov. 11 a memorandum of understanding for the establishment of the joint center in line with the agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan that ended the armed conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

The agreement has obliged Armenia to withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands it has been occupying since the early 1990s. Russia has already deployed around 2,000 troops to monitor the ceasefire in the designated areas of Nagorno-Karabakh.

In line with article 5 of the agreement that stipulates the monitoring of the ceasefire, Ankara and Moscow launched talks for the creation of the center in mid-November. After a few rounds of talks, the parties agreed on the terms but the final say will belong to the Azerbaijani administration as the host nation.

The Turkish statement did not inform where exactly the center will operate. It did not detail other technical aspects of the memorandum of understanding either. The Turkish Parliament had already granted necessary permission to the government for the deployment of troops to Azerbaijan with the mandate to monitor the ceasefire and contribute to the regional stability.

The center will detect the violations by the use of drones and other means who will monitor the area. It will also examine the complaints by the parties and will take measures to prevent the breaches of the ceasefire, according to the Turkish officials.

The Azerbaijani army has declared a clear victory against the Armenian troops after six-week-long clashes in Nagorno-Karabakh. As a result of the defeat, the Armenian army is continuing its withdrawal from the Azerbaijani lands.