Turkey parliament extends Turkish peacekeepers presence in Azerbaijan
The Turkish parliament extended the deployment of Turkish peacekeeping forces in Azerbaijan.
ISTANBUL (AFP) - The Turkish parliament on Wednesday extended the deployment of Turkish peacekeeping forces in Azerbaijan for another year, the official Anadolu news agency reported.
Turkey is one of Azerbaijan s closest allies and has strongly defended its right to reclaim lands it lost to ethnic Armenian separatists in a 1988-94 war.
The motion, voted in the parliament Wednesday, said a joint centre established by Turkish and Russian armed forces to monitor the ceasefire between Azerbaijan and its arch-foe Armenia "successfully continues its activities," according to Anadolu.
Last year, Russia helped broker a peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan which ended six weeks of fighting over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
After the ceasefire, the Turkish parliament authorised sending troops to Azerbaijan to establish a "peacekeeping centre" with Russia to monitor the truce.
Under the Russia-brokered deal, Armenia ceded swathes of territories to Azerbaijan in the disputed enclave as well as surrounding areas it had controlled since a war in 1990s, as well as allowing the deployment of Russian peacekeepers in the area.
