BAKU, September 21. /TASS/. Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler congratulated his Azerbaijani counterpart Zakir Hasanov during a phone call on the successful completion of the operation in Karabakh, the press service of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry reported.
"Guler congratulated the Azerbaijani defense minister on the successful completion of anti-terrorist measures, noting that Turkey, as always, is with Azerbaijan," the report says. According to the Defense Ministry, the Azerbaijani official informed about the military successes achieved during the local anti-terrorist measures in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan in all directions promptly.
"During the telephone conversation, a detailed exchange of views on a number of other issues of mutual interest also occurred," the Defense Ministry added.
On September 19, tensions flared up again in Nagorno-Karabakh. Baku announced it was launching what it described as "local anti-terrorist measures" and demanded the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the region. Yerevan, in turn, said there were no Armenian forces in Karabakh, calling what was happening "an act of large-scale aggression."
Russia called on the conflicting sides to prevent civilian casualties and return to a diplomatic solution. On September 20, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry announced that an agreement had been reached with the participation of the Russian peacekeeping contingent on the suspension of local anti-terrorist operations in Nagorno-Karabakh as of 12:00 p.m. Moscow time. On Thursday, representatives of Baku and the Armenians in Karabakh met in the Azerbaijani city of Yevlakh "to discuss reintegration issues.".