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President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on a joint center with Russia to monitor the Nagorno-Karabakh peace deal, which has ended weeks of armed conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
"Turkey will join the peacekeeping forces in the [Karabakh] region to monitor the implementation of the deal with Russia," Erdogan told his party's parliamentary group in Ankara.
The MoU on the center, which will be established on the territory that Azerbaijan captured during the conflict, said Erdoğan
Referring to an article of yesterday's (November 10) Russia-brokered peace deal, he said: "A road will be constructed to connect Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan Autonomous Region."
The president also congratulated Ilham Aliyev, his counterpart in Azerbaijan.
Military situation in the region after the 44-day cconflict (Map: Wikipedia)
Relations between the ex-Soviet republics have been tense since 1991 when a de-facto state was founded in Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.
Fresh clashes erupted on September 27 and lasted 44 days.
Baku has taken control of several cities and nearly 300 of its settlements and villages.
On November 10, the two countries signed a Russia-brokered agreement to end the fighting and work towards a comprehensive solution.
About the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute
Nagorno-Karabakh is a mountainous region of approximately 4,400 square kilometers in the Caucasus between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Relations between the two former Soviet countries have been tense since 1989 over Nagorno-Karabakh, or Upper Karabakh, an internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan populated mostly by Armenians. In 1989, the parliament of Azerbaijan removed Nagorno-Karabakh's autonomous status, which had been in place since 1923. During the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Armenia began military operations into Nagorno-Karabakh in 1991. In the same year, the separatist administration in Nagorno-Karabakh declared independence. The Azeri people of the region had boycotted the independence referendum. The independence of the Nagorno-Karabakh, or Artsakh republic, is not recognized by any United Nations member state, including Armenia. Four UN Security Council and two UN General Assembly resolutions as well as many international organizations demand the withdrawal of the occupying forces. The OSCE Minsk Group – co-chaired by France, Russia and the US – was formed in 1992 to find a peaceful solution to the conflict. A cease-fire was agreed upon in 1994. France, Russia and NATO, among others, have urged an immediate halt to clashes in the occupied region. During the conflict between 1988-1994, about one million people were displaced and 30,000 were killed. |
Berat Albayrak's resignation
Erdoğan also made his first public remarks on the resignation of Berat Albayrak, his son-in-law, as the minister of treasury and finance.
"I thank Berat Albayrak, who provided important services to our country, on behalf of myself and my nation," he said.
"He requested to be excused from duty due to health problems. And we have accepted this request and appointed our friend Lütfi Elvan instead," he said.
Albayrak announced his resignation on Instagram on Sunday (November 8). After a silence of more than 24 hours, the Presidency announced that his resignation was accepted.
The lack of media coverage until the Presidency's statement drew criticism. (AS/VK)
