The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry announced today, Saturday, that Russia and Turkey have opened a joint center to monitor a ceasefire in the Nagorno Karabakh region.
The ministry said in a statement that up to 60 soldiers from both Turkey and Russia will work in the center.
And Anadolu Agency reported that the joint center of the Turkish-Russian forces actually began its activities today.
The inauguration of the center in the village of Marzeli in Aghdam Governorate (southwest) was attended by Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov, Yunus Emre Qara Ismailoglu, Deputy Minister of Defense of Turkey, Alexander Fomin, Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia, and other officials.
Speaking during the opening ceremony, Zakir Hasanov expressed his wishes for success to the Turkish and Russian soldiers who will work at the center.
He stated that he was sure that the Turkish and Russian soldiers would establish friendly relations between them.
For his part, the Turkish Deputy Defense Minister said that the establishment of peace and stability in the region was the result of the concerted efforts of the Turkish presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Russian Vladimir Putin and the Azerbaijani Ilham Aliyev.
It is noteworthy that the ceasefire agreement in the region was sponsored by Russia last November, after 6 weeks of fighting between the Azerbaijani and Armenian forces.
The fighting led to a large number of deaths, while Azerbaijan made large field gains and recaptured many areas of the region.