Russian and Turkish foreign ministers meet in Sochi

Sochi is hosting the eighth meeting of the Turkey-Russia Joint Strategic Planning Group, which will take place against the backdrop of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict that ended on 9 November. The spa city, which has already been a meeting point for other forums, will host the meetings of the Russian and Turkish foreign ministers, Sergey Lavrov and Mevlüt Çavusoglu, respectively, to deal mainly with issues relating to Nagorno-Karabakh, but also other regional scenarios.

Russia's mediation in the conflict between Armenians and Azeris led to a trilateral declaration between both countries and Russia itself, whereby Ilham Aliev, the Azeri president, recovered the territories captured by the Armenians in the 90s and also part of the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Turkey, despite not having been a party to this tripartite agreement, has been an essential support for Baku, and its position therefore also carries weight in the negotiations and everything related to the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The clearest example is that, although the ceasefire observation mission is conducted exclusively by Russia, Turkey will send 35 military to the observation centre established by Moscow to also guarantee compliance.

At the end of the meeting between the two, the 2021-2022 Consultation Plan will be signed by the foreign ministries of both countries. Turkish diplomacy stressed that both countries are on different sides of the conflicts in Syria and Libya, for example, but agree that their relationship should be constructive and cooperative. On the border issue between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the Turkish side commented on the need to protect border security within the framework of international law.

Both sides also agree that the risks of armed clashes should be minimised and that humanitarian aid should be provided to all parties, in addition of course to compliance with the November agreement.

The meeting will also address other scenarios where both countries are either present or have important interests. In this connection, it is pointed out that Russian diplomacy, the Middle East, North Africa, the Caucasus and the Black Sea will also be on the table during the meeting. This eighth meeting takes place in the framework of the Russia-Turkey Cooperation Council which was established in 2010.