Nagorno-Karabakh. Russian-Turkish Center

1 Nagorno-Karabakh. Peacekeepers.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported that the peacekeepers from the 15th separate peacekeeping brigade have arrived in the Armenian city of Goris, which is located on the border with Nagorno-Karabakh. The Ministry noted that the peacekeeping contingent is equipped with modern weapons and special equipment, including APCs ‘BTR-82A’ and armored vehicles ‘Tiger’ and ‘Typhoon’. Earlier the Ministry reported that some Russian helicopters, such as Mi-8 and Mi-24, will be used in the peacekeeping operation in Nagorno-Karabakh. The helicopters will control the ceasefire in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone. They will also deliver the material and technical equipment, and the peacekeeping forces to the hard-to-reach places. The helicopters were delivered to the Yerevan airport inside An-124 military cargo planes.

2 Nagorno-Karabakh. Russian-Turkish Center

On Wednesday the Russian Defense Ministry reported that after the video talks between the Russian Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu, and the Turkish Defense Minister, Hulusi Akar, a memorandum was signed on the establishment of a joint Russian-Turkish center for the control of the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh. The document defines the tasks for the center. According to Shoigu — «the decision to create a joint monitoring center will allow a reliable control over the observance of the ceasefire. It will also form a solid basis for a resolution of the long-standing conflict». The joint ceasefire control center will be located on the territory of Azerbaijan. The center will collect, analyze, and verify the information on the compliance of both parties with the ceasefire, as well as other actions that violate the agreement. The center will record the violations using visual surveillance and UAVs. It will also evaluate data from other sources. The center will become a body to deal with any problems and issues, related to the violations of the agreements.

3 Turkey. Russian-Turkish Center

The Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, stated during a press conference in Baku that a Russian delegation will visit Turkey on 13th of November in order to discuss the details of creation of the joint observatory center in Nagorno-Karabakh. The speech of the Turkish Foreign Minister was broadcast by the ‘NTV’ channel. Cavusoglu noted that after the visit of the Russian delegation — Turkey will hold negotiations with Azerbaijan. The Turkish Foreign Minister added that the location of the Russian-Turkish center »will be determined jointly with the Azerbaijani authorities».

4 Turkey

The Turkish Defense Minister, Hulusi Akar, repeated that the Turkish military will participate in the peacekeeping mission in Nagorno-Karabakh together with the Russians. «Turkey will join the joint peacekeeping mission in order to monitor and control the implementation of the peace agreement in Karabakh» — the ‘CNN Turk’ TV channel quoted the statement of the Turkish Defense Minister.

5 Russia

The Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated in an interview with Russian and foreign mass media that the Turkish peacekeepers won’t be sent to Nagorno-Karabakh. While commenting on the statements of the Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, and the Turkish Defense Minister, Hulusi Akar, Sergei Lavrov said that “it is related to the center that will work permanently, without any visiting missions. In that center, the Russian-Turkish specialists will indeed work on the same basis» — Lavrov explained and added that the Turkish observers will work only in the Russian-Turkish center for the control of the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh, which is being built in Azerbaijan. «The center will work exclusively via remote mode, by using technical means of control, including UAVs, which allow to determine the situation on the ground in Karabakh. They also allow to see which side is observing the ceasefire, and which side is violating it» — the minister concluded.