Turkey and Russia sign memorandum on establishment of ceasefire control center in Upper Karabakh

Turkish Defense Minister General Hulusi Akar and Russian Defense Minister General Sergey Shoygu

Turkish National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu signed a memorandum on the establishment of a joint ceasefire control center in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, Defence.az reports.

Hulusi Akar wished the activities to be carried out under the agreement to be effective and useful for the Nagorno-Karabakh region stressing that an important step has been taken to maintain the ceasefire and stability in the region.

Following over a month of military action to liberate its territories from Armenian occupation, Azerbaijan has pushed Armenia to sign the surrender document. A joint statement on the matter was made by Azerbaijani president, Armenia’s PM and the president of Russia.

A complete ceasefire and a cessation of all hostilities in the zone of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is introduced at 00:00 hours (Moscow time) on 10 November 2020.

Armenian Armed Forces launched a large-scale military attack on positions of Azerbaijani army on the front line, using large-caliber weapons, mortars and artillery on Sept. 27. Azerbaijan responded with a counter-offensive along the entire front.

Back in July 2020, Armenian Armed Forces violated the ceasefire in the direction of Azerbaijan’s Tovuz district. As a result of Azerbaijan’s retaliation, the opposing forces were silenced. The fighting continued the following days as well. Azerbaijan lost a number of military personnel members, who died fighting off the attacks of the Armenian Armed Forces.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian Armed Forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.