Russian and Turkish military in Syria
Baku/23.11.20/Turan: Turkey and Russia are at odds over Ankara’s wish to set up an independent military observation post on Azeri territory, a Turkish source said to Reuters, after the two agreed this month to monitor a ceasefire in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Turkey and Russia have already agreed to set up a joint center in the region to monitor the November 10 ceasefire that ended weeks of fighting between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces in the region.
Russian and Turkish officials have still to agree on the parameters of the monitoring mechanism, but Turkey, a staunch ally of Azerbaijan, also wants its own independent observation post to boost its influence in a region it sees as key to its own security.
“The biggest difference of opinion right now is the observation post Turkey will establish on Azerbaijan’s lands,” the Turkish source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“Russia thinks it is unnecessary for Turkey to establish an observation post in the region independent of the joint centre. However, this is necessary for Turkey.”
The source said talks would continue in Moscow and that Turkey expected eventually to reach a compromise with Russia.
There was no immediate comment on the matter from Russia, Armenia or Azerbaijan.
Turkey has backed Azerbaijan, with which it has close ethnic and cultural ties, since the start of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict nearly 30 years ago and has demanded the withdrawal of Armenian forces from all Azeri territory.
France said last week it wanted international supervision to implement the ceasefire, concerned that Russia and Turkey could strike a deal to cut out Western powers from future peace talks.—0—
Politics
-
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (OPHRD), a joint program of the World Organization against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), has called for the urgent release of activist Rufat Safarov from prison in Azerbaijan. It has launched a campaign in support of the Azerbaijani human rights defender. https://www.omct.org/en/resources/urgent-interventions/arbitrary-detention-and-judicial-harassment-against-rufat-safarov
-
This year, the laureate of the annual Nargiz Prize, awarded for efforts in the fight for democracy, was Akif Gurbanov, chairman of the board of the Resplatforma (Platform of the III Republic) movement, who is under arrest.
-
The U.S. will prohibit the issuing of visas for nearly a dozen more individuals responsible for undermining democracy in Georgia, bringing the total number to over 100, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.
-
The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, has expressed condolences to the President of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, following the tragic incident in the city of Magdeburg. "We are deeply shocked by the news of the deaths and injuries resulting from the tragic incident that took place at the Christmas market in Magdeburg," the message reads.
Leave a review