Eurasia Press & News
A few days ago, in a televised address after meetings between Russia and Turkey, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov gave a statement to the general public on the upcoming problems to be resolved in Nagorno-Karabakh. According to Lavrov, there will be no Turkish troops on the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, only Russian peacekeepers.
His words have already been totally refuted after Turkey decided to send troops to Nagorno-Karabakh, learned BulgarianMilitary.com. Sources in Turkey say preparations are under way to send Turkish troops, and parliament has apparently backed the Turkish president’s idea and voted to do so. Initially, according to Turkish sources, Ankara’s troops will be positioned in Azerbaijan and will be gradually and gradually redeployed to various locations in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Russian media Krasnaya Vesna reports that according to the decree of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish troops will be available in Azerbaijan for a year and will participate in joint peacekeeping missions in Nagorno-Karabakh. According to the Russian side, however, this will not be the case, as the Russian and Turkish military will work in a joint observation center on the territory of Azerbaijan and the Turks will not have access to the territory of Nagorno Karabakh. At least these are the words of the press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov.
Turkish politician Devlet Bahceli, leader of the Turkish National Movement party, told the media that it was high time the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh was cleared and returned to Azerbaijan. According to him, the Azerbaijani forces have shown professionalism and have achieved great success, having managed to regain approximately 70% of the conquered territories in 44 days.
So far, there is no official statement or statement from Moscow related to the presidential decree of the Turkish president, but such is expected very soon. Military experts say such decisions and actions by Ankara could seriously undermine not only the stabilization of security in the region, but also Russia’s influence in the Caucasus. Military historians see the situation as an opportunity for the Turkish military, together with its Azerbaijani counterparts, to try again with military force to resume the conflict in order to return 100% of the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia.
According to them, such a possibility exists because currently the situation in this part of the world is seriously destabilized and the sending of Turkish troops will increase Turkish influence. On the other hand, seeing what is happening beyond its borders, Armenia could violate the agreement signed between the two countries and start mass arming and increasing its military forces, which would escalate into a whole new tension, much more dangerous than what happened. on September 27 this year.
The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh escalated on September 27, active clashes are taking place in the disputed territory. Martial law was introduced in Azerbaijan and Armenia, and mobilization was announced. Both sides reported killed and wounded, including civilians. In Baku, they announced the control of several Karabakh villages and strategic heights. Yerevan also reports about the shelling of the territory of Armenia.
On November 10 the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia signed an agreement ending the war in Nagorno-Karabakh a month after its new outbreak, which returned to Baku much of the remaining Armenian-controlled territories since 1994.
This is not the final solution to the conflict, which claimed 30,000 lives at the end of the last century and an unknown number in the last month. However, with it, Armenia, which has suffered heavy losses from Azerbaijan is making radical concessions.
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
Azerbaijan and Armenia have been in conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh since February 1988, when the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region announced its withdrawal from the Azerbaijan SSR.
During the armed conflict in 1992-1994, the Azerbaijani side lost control of Nagorno-Karabakh and the seven areas adjacent to it. Since 1992, negotiations have been conducted within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group on a peaceful settlement of the conflict. The group is led by co-chairs – Russia, USA and France.
In 1994, Azerbaijan, Armenia and the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, through the mediation of Russia, signed the Bishkek Armistice Protocol. At the same time, military operations did not stop there, which periodically renewed. The most significant exacerbation of the conflict was the four-day war of 2016. Then hundreds of soldiers on both sides became victims.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, during a meeting with the President of Azerbaijan last year, called for a rhetoric that would go against the fundamental principles endorsed by both sides and enshrined in the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act when resolving the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh. At the same time, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry admitted that much more needs to be done to achieve a long-term political settlement.
