Russian-Turkish Flag; StockPhoto

Keeping Peace On Abroad — Russian-Turkish Monitoring Center, Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, a West Asian Shia Muslim and a large Turkish-inhabited Caspian state rich in hydrocarbons, was a Union Republic Of the former Soviet Union and naturally had a large Soviet military presence on Azerbaijani territory. But after the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia began withdrawing troops from Azerbaijani territory, and by May 1993, Russia had withdrawn almost all of its troops from Azerbaijan. There is only one Russian base left on the territory of Azerbaijan, and that was the 'Kabala Radar Station' (Russian: Габалинская РЛС, 'Gabalinskaya Radiolokatsionnaya Stantsiya) located in the Kabala district of Azerbaijan. It was an 'early warning radar' base and the station's job was to detect missiles fired at Russia from any part of the Indian Ocean. But Russia shut down the base in 2012, and by 2013 the base's sensitive equipment had been transferred from Azerbaijan to Russia.

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About seven years later, in 2020, a new Russian military presence was established on Azerbaijani territory. On November 10, 2020, a armistice was signed between Azerbaijan and Armenia, mediated by Russia, ending the Armenian-Azerbaijani war. The next day, November 11, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Russia and Turkey (the main supporter of Azerbaijan in the Armenian-Azerbaijani war).

Inauguration Of The Russian-Turkish Monitoring Centre, January 30, 2021
Photo: Daily Sabah

Inauguration Of The Russian-Turkish Monitoring Centre

The observation center was inaugurated on January 30, 2021 in the Agadam district of Azerbaijan, and began operations on February 1.

The official name of the center is 'Joint Russian-Turkish Monitoring Center for Ceasefire and All Military Activities in the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict Zone'. In short, it is known as the 'Joint Russian-Turkish Monitoring Center'.

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How Many Soldiers In Russian-Turkish Monitoring Center

The observation center has 60 Russian and 60 Turkish soldiers. And the center has one Russian and one Turkish commander.

Main Purpose Of Joint Russian-Turkish Monitoring Center

The main responsibility of the center is to observe the ceasefire between Armenia and Artasakh and Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Surveillance troops carried out the operation with the help of intelligence drones and maintained telephone contact with Russian peacekeepers stationed in Artasakh.

A Russian peacekeeper has been deployed in the main Nagorno-Karabakh area outside the Agadam Observatory. The vast majority of Nagorno-Karabakh territory is under Artasakh's control, and therefore the Russian military presence in Artasakh-controlled territory cannot be considered as a de facto Russian military presence in Azerbaijan. But under international law, Nagorno-Karabakh belongs to Azerbaijan, and Russia formally considers Nagorno-Karabakh to be Azerbaijani territory. In this context, the Russian military base in Nagorno-Karabakh can be considered as a Russian military base in Azerbaijani territory.