Turkey sends 35 soldiers to Azerbaijan to observe truce in Karabakh

Turkey has sent a contingent of 35 soldiers to Azerbaijan to establish a cease-fire observation centre in Nagorno-Karabakh, which it will manage together with Russia, according to the one concluded last November between Moscow, Ankara and Baku, the Turkish TV channel CNNTürk informed today.

The 35 Turkish soldiers, led by a brigadier general, will be deployed in Agdam, a town conquered by Armenia in 1993 and returned to Azerbaijan last November under the agreement between Baku and Yerevan which ended 44 days of war.

The establishment of the observation centre is included in the 9-point agreement sponsored by Moscow, but the participation of Turkish military was negotiated separately by Ankara, as Azerbaijan supports Turkey's aspiration to maintain forces in the area.

However, Russia has made it very clear that these Turkish military will limit themselves to observe the truce from the centre, together with the Russian forces, but they will not be able to participate in patrols through the territory of Upper Karabakh which remains under the control of Armenian militias after the war.

Although Ankara had officially announced the establishment of the joint centre, there is still no confirmation from government sources as to its location or the date of opening, which CNNTürk plans for January.

Agdam, a town originally inhabited by Azeris and located a few kilometres from the current border of Nagorno-Karabakh, was under the control of Armenian militias for three decades but was never repopulated and was part of a partly mined security strip.