Armenia should not be allowed to evade responsibilities under a cease-fire deal with Azerbaijan, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in a phone call late Tuesday.
Erdoğan also said in the call that he expects the Turkish-Russian joint monitoring center in Nagorno-Karabakh region to become active as soon as possible.
Reiterating Turkey’s sensitivity with regards to Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, Erdoğan also said that the criticisms of other co-chairs of the Minsk Group toward peace efforts are not understandable.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group, co-chaired by France, Russia and the U.S., was formed in 1992 to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, but to no avail. A cease-fire, however, was agreed upon in 1994.
Relations between the two former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, an internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan.
After new clashes erupted on Sept. 27, the Armenian army continued attacks on civilians and Azerbaijani forces and even violated humanitarian cease-fire agreements.
Baku liberated several cities and nearly 300 settlements and villages from Armenian occupation during the 44-day conflict.
On Nov. 10, the two countries signed a Russia-brokered agreement to end fighting and work toward a comprehensive resolution.
The truce is seen as a clear victory for Azerbaijan, and a defeat for Armenia.
In the phone call, Erdoğan and Putin also discussed ways to boost bilateral trade volume, developments in Syria and Libya, presidential sources said.
Erdoğan also emphasized the importance of Turkish–Russian cooperation for stability in Libya, according to sources.
