Nagorno-Karabakh: start of the cease-fire observation mission

Turkey is starting a ceasefire monitoring mission in Nagorno-Karabakh this Saturday with Russia.

Here, Russian soldiers near Arutyunagomer, November 14, 2020. REUTERS / Stringer

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A little more than two and a half months after the signing of an agreement ending the fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh, a cease-fire observation center begins its mission on Saturday.

It will be managed by Russian and Turkish soldiers, as provided for in the agreement.

Turkey, which has supported Azerbaijan throughout the conflict, confirms its role on the ground, although Russia has been careful to limit this role. 

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With our correspondent in Istanbul,

Anne Andlauer

Thirty-eight Turkish soldiers, under the authority of a general, therefore begin their mission alongside Russian soldiers in a joint ceasefire observation center.

Turkish soldiers called to work in the center have been present in Azerbaijan since the end of December, while 136 soldiers specializing in mine clearance have been supporting and training their Azerbaijani counterparts in the recaptured areas since mid-December.

As Moscow had requested, the observation center is not located in Nagorno-Karabakh but in Agdam, a district conquered by the Armenian separatists in 1993 and taken over by Azerbaijan under the agreement between Baku and Yerevan.

And as Moscow had demanded, the soldiers present in this center will operate remotely using technological tools.

In short: the Turkish military will not form a peacekeeping force on the ground, unlike the Russian military deployed just after the

signing of the agreement

.

These details were the subject of close negotiations between Moscow and Ankara, with both sides keen to counterbalance the influence of the other in this region of the Caucasus.

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Read also: Nagorno-Karabakh: Amnesty calls for a rapid investigation into the civilian deaths

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  • Nagorno-Karabakh

  • Azerbaijan

  • Armenia

  • Turkey

  • Russia

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