A joint Russian-Turkish Center (SRTC) to control the ceasefire and all hostilities in the zone of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict began work in the Agdam region of Azerbaijan.

The object is located in the area of ​​the village of Kiyamaddinlli.

The Center's responsibilities include monitoring the situation in the region, collecting, summarizing and checking information about violations of the silence regime, as well as analyzing complaints and security-related issues.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the SRTC, the Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan Zakir Asker oglu Hasanov stated that the creation of such a center is of particular importance for the settlement of the conflict.

According to him, the activities of the Russian-Turkish structure are designed to ensure long-term peace in the region.

“We are also confident that a friendly working atmosphere between our Russian and Turkish colleagues will be created in the center,” Hasanov said.

In turn, Deputy Defense Minister of the Russian Federation Colonel-General Alexander Fomin said that the emergence of the SRTC is the result of close cooperation between the military departments of the two states and the "colossal work" of the Azerbaijani side.

“In fact, this is a new stage in our peacekeeping activity ... Now a lot depends on you, including how quickly and accurately all the measures necessary to establish peace in the long-suffering land will be carried out,” Fomin said, addressing the Russian and Turkish officers.

Turkish Deputy Defense Minister Yunus Emre Karaosmanoglu also noted the high role of Russian-Turkish cooperation in the settlement of regional conflicts.

Speaking at the ceremony of launching the work of the SRTC, he stressed that such a format of cooperation with the Russian Federation is of "very great value."

In December, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev called the establishment of the center an indicator of "very acceptable cooperation between Turkey and Russia."

As the leader of the republic expects, the servicemen of the two countries will be able to effectively work to prevent various threats, ensure peace and stability in the conflict zone.

"It is necessary to conduct monitoring and control in this region, and I am sure that the Turkish-Russian center will fulfill this function with honor," Aliyev said on December 31 at a meeting with Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar.

"Basis for the settlement of a long-standing conflict"

The Joint Russian-Turkish Center was created on the basis of a memorandum between the Russian Defense Ministry and the Turkish military department.

The document was adopted on November 11, 2020 - two days after the conclusion of a tripartite ceasefire agreement in Nagorno-Karabakh, according to which a Russian peacekeeping contingent of 1,960 troops was introduced into the region.

"The decision to create a joint monitoring center will allow reliable control over the parties' compliance with the cessation of hostilities and will form a solid basis for resolving the long-standing conflict," Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said at the talks with Akar on November 11.

  • Opening ceremony of SRTC

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  • © Ministry of Defense of Russia

The construction of the SRTC in the Aghdam region began at the end of November 2020, when it came under the control of Azerbaijan.

The center is a military camp for 120 people with a developed infrastructure that allows officers to perform official tasks, play sports and spend leisure time.

Responsibilities for material and technical support, maintenance and combat security are assigned to the Azerbaijani side.

From Russia, 60 people are present at the Monitoring Center on a rotational basis, recruited mainly from parts of the Southern Military District.

The Turkish side also sent a similar number of servicemen to the SRTC.

In the near future, officers of the two states plan to organize round-the-clock monitoring of the situation on the contact line in Karabakh.

For this purpose, unmanned systems will be continuously in the air.

Russian military personnel will use UAVs "Orlan-10" and "Forpost", which are equipped with modern equipment for monitoring various types of objects at any time of the day.

The drone launches will take place outside the SRTC territory.

To travel to the area, each party has the right to use its own vehicles.

The fleet of Russian military personnel includes all-terrain vehicles, armored vehicles "Tiger" and KamAZ.

The information received from the UAV and from other sources flows to the headquarters of the SRTC.

According to Colonel Mikhail Zavadny, a representative of the Russian part of the SRTC, the officers of the RF Armed Forces are provided with all the necessary material and technical means.

If a violation of the ceasefire regime is recorded, the military personnel of both countries must make a joint decision to neutralize the security threat.

  • Russian specialists are preparing the UAV "Orlan-10" for a mission in the Karabakh region

  • © mil.ru

The duration of each shift on duty at the SRTC is 12 hours.

Russian and Turkish servicemen communicate with each other in English or through translators.

Before leaving for the Aghdam region, Russian officers were in Stepanakert, where they studied the mission, functions and organization of the work of the SRTC, as well as the culture, traditions and peculiarities of Azerbaijan.

"A whole range of diplomatic powers"

According to experts, the emergence of the SRTC indicates that the situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh region is in the field of close attention of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

During a telephone conversation on January 13, the Turkish President "expressed support for Russia's efforts in the mainstream of the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement" and supported the coordination of actions between Moscow and Ankara, "including in the interests of economic development of the region and promotion of mutually beneficial projects."

According to the head of the Bureau of Military-Political Analysis Alexander Mikhailov, the launch of the SRTC has become an important stage in the further settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

In an interview with RT, the analyst noted that the monitoring center built in the Aghdam region will be able to keep under observation the main zones where there is a risk of hotbeds of military tension.

The activities of the SRTC, from the point of view of Mikhailov, reflect the balance of power and the current geopolitical situation in the region.

“The contribution of Turkey to support Azerbaijan in the Karabakh conflict is obvious to everyone.

Therefore, despite the sometimes ambiguous attitude towards the Turkish side in this region, it is also impossible not to take into account Ankara's involvement in the settlement of this conflict and the real situation here.

Therefore, it is hardly possible to do without the participation of the Turks, ”says Mikhailov.

In a commentary to RT, the director of the Institute for Peacekeeping Initiatives and Conflictology Denis Denisov noted that the Monitoring Center will allow Moscow and Ankara to quickly exchange views and coordinate the actions of the region.

“The Russian-Turkish center is de facto endowed with a number of diplomatic powers that look completely logical in the framework of the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

It is through this center that the exchange of views and coordination of actions will take place, ”says Denisov.

Yuri Mavashev, director of the Center for the Study of New Turkey, shares a similar point of view.

According to his forecast, the officers of the two states will be able to effectively carry out the tasks of monitoring the ceasefire regime.

  • Russian servicemen of SRTC

  • © mil.ru

The expert recalled that Moscow and Ankara have already gained experience of interaction in resolving the conflict in Syria.

Recall that within the framework of the Sochi Memorandum of Understanding, which Putin and Erdogan signed on October 22, 2019, the military personnel of both countries are conducting joint patrols of territories in the north of the SAR.

In particular, thanks to the mediation of Turkey, the Astana process was launched, and in March 2020, the Russian-Turkish coordination center for monitoring compliance with the ceasefire began to work.

“The situation with the settlement of the Karabakh conflict and the involvement of Turkey in this process demonstrates the need to move away from the stereotyped ideas about the relationship between the two countries.

A decisive role here is played by a really working pragmatic interaction on key regional problems.

On the example of Moscow and Ankara, we see that this approach brings results, ”Mavashev stressed.