Turkish parliament ratifies motion to extend troop deployment in Azerbaijan

Anadolu Agency - Duvar English 

The Turkish parliament on Nov. 10 ratified a motion to extend the deployment of Turkish troops in Azerbaijan for one more year.

All the parties in parliament, other than the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), backed the motion which allows the Turkish military to carry out cross-border operations in Azerbaijan for another year, from Nov. 17, 2021 until Nov. 17, 2022.

"Turkey, which has strongly supported Azerbaijan from the very beginning of the process so that it can defend all its rights including its territorial integrity on the basis of international law and legitimate sovereign rights, is taking important initiatives for the preservation and strengthening of peace and stability in the region and for the construction and restoration of the economic infrastructure to facilitate this," the motion read.

It added that the joint center in Nagorno-Karabakh by Turkish and Russian armed forces "has been contributing to region's security and the establishment of confidence between parties." 

It said that the presence of Turkish troops at the joint center "was a necessity as per Turkey's effective and constructive role in the region and its national interests." 

Last year's six-week conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh was brought to a halt by a Russian-brokered ceasefire deal in November 2020.

Afterwards, Russia and Turkey opened a joint center to observe the ceasefire. Turkey said that one Turkish general and 38 personnel were assigned to work at the center.

Turkey has accused Armenia of occupying Azeri lands and pledged solidarity with its ethnic Turkic kin in Azerbaijan.

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