Russia and Turkey agree that the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh should not be used for infiltration of foreign mercenaries into the region, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday following the talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
"Our common opinion is also that the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh should not be used for attempts to infiltrate foreign mercenaries into the region. Here we and our Turkish colleagues are absolutely united," he said.
"We welcome Ankara's desire to assist the parties to the conflict to fulfill their obligations. In particular, within the framework of the agreement, which was signed by the Presidents of Russia, Azerbaijan and the Prime Minister of Armenia on November 9, as well as within the framework of the Russian-Turkish joint center for monitoring the implementation of cease-fire obligations," the Minister stressed.
Lavrov said that the center was being created as a result of an agreement between the presidents of Russia and Turkey.
In early November, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said that Russian and Turkish soldiers "will soon take up their duties" in the joint center on Nagorno-Karabakh.
On November 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on the full cessation of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh. According to the Russian leader, the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides are staying in the occupied positions, and Russian peacekeepers will be deployed in the region. A memorandum on the establishment of a joint Russian-Turkish center to monitor the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh was signed on November 11 following talks via video link between Hulusi Akar and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Alexander Ryumin / TASS
Based on materials from TASS