Turkey Says Ready to Deploy Troops to Azerbaijan

An Azerbaijani service member and a Russian peacekeeper stand guard at a checkpoint in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh (File photo: Reuters)
An Azerbaijani service member and a Russian peacekeeper stand guard at a checkpoint in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh (File photo: Reuters)
TT
20

Turkey Says Ready to Deploy Troops to Azerbaijan

An Azerbaijani service member and a Russian peacekeeper stand guard at a checkpoint in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh (File photo: Reuters)
An Azerbaijani service member and a Russian peacekeeper stand guard at a checkpoint in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh (File photo: Reuters)

Turkey has announced that it will send troops to monitor the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh following the Russian-mediated agreement signed between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

On November 9, Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia signed a joint statement on the complete cessation of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar announced that the armed forces will be sent to the region of Azerbaijan in the shortest period of time.

During his tour to a military industry facility, Akar noted that the decision to send Turkish soldiers to Azerbaijan has been approved by the parliament, which give the green light for a one-year deployment.

“Our preparations are completed …Turkish soldiers will start their duty in Azerbaijan as soon as possible.”

Akar denounced Western accusations to the Azerbaijani army of burning and destroying parts of the region, saying the military was liberating its lands from a 30-year occupation.

He stated that the whole world witnessed as the Armenian army deliberately bombed populated areas in Azerbaijan.

Recent reports revealed that Turkey has transferred dozens of Arab and Turkmen families from areas under its control in northeastern Syria to Karabakh. The families will settle in the areas after the withdrawal of the Armenian forces.

The representative of self-administration in northern and eastern Syria, Sivan Xaburi, said he received confirmed information that the Turkish government was transferring Syrian families to change the demographic composition of the region.

He added that the administration contacted the Kurds, and confirmed that a number of Syrian families had arrived in the region via Turkey.

Xaburi also accused Turkey of changing the demography of Afrin in Syria, which now has less than seven percent of its indigenous population.

Meanwhile, French Trade Minister Franck Riester warned that the European Council will consider imposing restrictions on Turkey during its next meeting following its "unacceptable" behavior in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Riester told "France Inter" radio that the upcoming meeting will discuss increasing the pressure on Turkey.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was in Armenia on Saturday at the head of a high-ranking delegation.

During a press briefing, Lavrov confirmed that the delegation's meetings focused on ensuring the “accurate and full implementation” of the statement issued by the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Both Russia and Armenia stressed that attempts to discredit this statement are unacceptable, said Lavrov.

Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said that Russian peacekeeping troops provided safe corridors to all refugees who wish to return to their areas.

“As of today, almost 7,000 citizens have returned, this work continues, and I am sure that everyone who would like to return to Nagorno-Karabakh will be able to do so.”

Shoigu held a meeting with his Armenian counterpart Vagharshak Harutyunyan in Yerevan to discuss the main priorities of the peacekeeping operation in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Harutyunyan highly appreciated the actions of the Russian peacekeepers to restore peace in the region.

"The ceasefire is being observed. Frankly, for this conflict, which has such a history and such a geography, forces were deployed so quickly and so effectively.”



NATO Scrambles to Overcome Spain Block on Summit Spending Deal

Sanchez's resistance has sparked fury from other NATO members. Ozan KOSE / AFP
Sanchez's resistance has sparked fury from other NATO members. Ozan KOSE / AFP
TT
20

NATO Scrambles to Overcome Spain Block on Summit Spending Deal

Sanchez's resistance has sparked fury from other NATO members. Ozan KOSE / AFP
Sanchez's resistance has sparked fury from other NATO members. Ozan KOSE / AFP

NATO struggled Friday to overcome a block from Spain on a new defense spending deal that US President Donald Trump has demanded for a summit next week.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Thursday threw a last-minute hand grenade into preparations for the gathering in The Hague by coming out strongly against the agreement, AFP said.

In a blistering letter to NATO chief Mark Rutte, Sanchez said that committing to a headline figure of five percent of GDP "would not only be unreasonable, but also counterproductive".

The outburst from Madrid's center-left leader has sparked fury from other NATO members who fear it could derail the carefully crafted compromise designed to keep Trump happy at the summit.

Ambassadors held a round of negotiations at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Friday, but broke up without a deal being reached.

Several diplomats said talks could drag on through the weekend in an effort to reach a breakthrough or the start of the summit on Tuesday.

"There is no clarity yet," one diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing deliberations.

In a bid to satisfy Trump's demand to spend five percent of GDP on defense, NATO chief Rutte has corralled allies towards a diplomatic trade-off.

That would see them agree to coughing up 3.5 percent on core military needs, and 1.5 percent on a looser category of "defense-related" expenditures such as infrastructure and cybersecurity.

As a string of reluctant European capitals fell into line, officials believed they were comfortably on track to reach the deal for the Hague summit.

Washington's allies fear that Trump -- who has previously threatened not to protect countries he thinks don't spend enough -- could blow a hole in NATO if he doesn't get what he wants.

Spain has been one of the lowest spending NATO countries on defense in relative terms.

The country is only set to hit the alliance's current target of two percent this year after a 10 billion euro ($11.5 billion) injection.

Sanchez is facing a difficult balancing act of aligning with NATO allies and cajoling his junior coalition partner, the far-left alliance Sumar, which is hostile to increasing military spending.