Turkey and Russia agreed to establish a joint observation center for the implementation of the Nagorno-Karabakh peace deal which was signed by Armenia last month under the auspices of Moscow.
The Turkish Defense Ministry announced Tuesday that talks on the joint observation center have been completed and work is ongoing to launch the center as soon as possible.
Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and his Russian counterpart Sergey Shoygu signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on November 11 to establish the center.
The Azerbaijani army managed to regain control over five cities, four towns and 286 villages, before Armenia admitted its defeat in the fighting that broke out on September 27th.
On November 10, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a ceasefire ending military action and restoring Azerbaijan's control over its territory.
Akar told commanders Monday that Turkish-Russian activities are continuing as planned in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Moscow previously confirmed that Turkish soldiers had not participated in the peace-keeping operation in Karabakh, which was launched after the ceasefire.
It indicated that Turkey misunderstood the Russian statements believing that the joint center would be established in Azerbaijan away from the line of contact in Karabakh, while Ankara insists that its soldiers participate in the peacekeeping operation.
Putin stressed that the agreement provides for the establishment of the Russian-Turkish center on Karabakh within the territory of Azerbaijan, indicating that drones will be used to monitor the situation.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government insist that Turkey will participate in preserving peace in Karabakh.
For his part, Putin described the presence of Turkish soldiers on the line of contact in Karabakh as a “provocation.”
On November 17, the Turkish parliament approved the deployment of military forces to Azerbaijan.
Meanwhile, France urged Russia to clear up "ambiguities" over the ceasefire, notably regarding the role of Turkey and foreign fighters.
"We must remove the ambiguities over refugees, the delimitation of the ceasefire, the presence of Turkey, the return of fighters and on the start of negotiations on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh," French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told parliament.
Turkey faces accusations of sending Syrian mercenaries to Karabakh, and it was reported that Ankara is currently resettling them in the area.
France is pressing EU leaders to impose sanctions on Turkey during their summit on December 10 and 11, for its role in Karabakh as well creating tensions in the eastern Mediterranean, supporting extremist militias and sending Syrian mercenaries to Libya.
