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Russian-Turkish monitoring center in Karabakh shuts down

Russia’s Deputy Chief of General Staff Sergey Istrakov pointed out that over the last three years, the Russian-Turkish monitoring center in Aghdam had been an example of successful cooperation between the three countries’ militaries

BAKU, April 26. /TASS/. The Russian-Turkish ceasefire monitoring center in Karabakh has terminated its operation, Azerbaijani news agency Report said.

According to the news agency, a ceremony, organized by the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry, took place in the Aghdam district, where the center was deployed, and was attended by Azerbaijan’s First Deputy Defense Minister, Chief of General Staff Karim Valiyev, Russia’s Deputy Chief of General Staff Sergey Istrakov and Turkey’s Land Forces Command Chief of Staff Levent Ergun.

Speaking at the ceremony, Sergey Istrakov said that over the last three years, the Russian-Turkish monitoring center in Aghdam had been an example of successful cooperation between the three countries’ militaries.

"All the assigned tasks were solved by fellow colleagues from Russia and Turkey in a businesslike and friendly manner," he said as quoted by the news agency.

A joint Russian-Turkish center started operating in Aghdam on January 30, 2021 to monitor the ceasefire in the Karabakh region and prevent any violations of the law.

On April 17, Hikmet Hajiyev, the Azerbaijani presidential aide, said that in accordance with the decision of the top leaderships of Russia and Azerbaijan, Russian peacekeepers would be withdrawn from Karabakh, ahead of the end of their mandate. On April 18, the Turkish Defense Ministry announced that the Aghdam-based Russian-Turkish monitoring center would cease operations.

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