Turkey Deploys Troops to Azerbaijan

Turkish soldiers are set to head to Azerbaijan in the near future. According to Armenpress, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar announced this, as reported by RIA Novosti.

“The ground forces have completed their preparations,” noted Akar. On November 17, the Turkish Parliament approved President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's order to send troops to Azerbaijan. According to the document, they may remain there for up to one year.

Last week, Erdoğan stated that Ankara and Moscow had signed a memorandum regarding the monitoring center for the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh, and that Turkish military personnel would also participate in the joint peacekeeping mission.

Moscow has remarked that Russia and Turkey will work through a monitoring center located in Azerbaijani territory concerning the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, but there has been no mention of joint peacekeeping forces.

President Vladimir Putin further noted that Baku and Ankara have always discussed the possibility of Turkey's involvement in peacekeeping operations, yet Moscow has been able to persuade them not to create preconditions that could undermine agreements around Nagorno-Karabakh.

On November 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a joint statement concerning the cessation of military operations in Nagorno-Karabakh. The war ceased on November 10 at 01:00, with Russian peacekeepers entering the region. A total of 1,960 Russian troops, 90 armored vehicles, 380 units of automotive and special equipment are planned to be involved.