Erdogan: Turkish troops will be deployed to Nagorno-Karabakh
The Turkish military will be deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh and perform the same duties as the Russian peacekeepers, said Turkish President Recep Erdogan after a meeting of the parliamentary faction of his Justice and Development Party.
Speaking in parliament, Erdogan congratulated the people of Azerbaijan on their "historic victory."
"Armenia will withdraw troops from the Kalbajar District by November 15, from parts of the Agdam and Gazakh districts by November 20, and by December 1 from the Lachin district. All these territories will be returned to Azerbaijan," Erdogan said.
Erdogan said that a protocol was signed to establish a joint Turkish-Russian ceasefire control and monitoring center. The talks will continue after the arrival of the Russian delegation in Turkey.
On Tuesday, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev announced that the Turkish military will enter the conflict zone in addition to the Russian military.
The Kremlin hastened to refute Erdogan’s words. "There is not a single word about it in the text of the statement that was published. The three sides did not agree on this," said Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
"The deployment of Turkish soldiers in Karabakh has not been agreed," Peskov said, referring to the document on ending the war signed by Aliyev, Putin and Pashinyan.
According to the agreement, the Azerbaijani army remains at its positions, and Armenia returns to Azerbaijan three districts occupied during the 1992-94 war, leaving only the 5 km wide Lachin corridor, which will provide communication between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia.
Russian peacekeeping contingent of 1960 troops with small arms, 90 armored personnel carriers, 380 units of vehicles and special equipment will be deployed along the contact line.
Pashinyan's de facto surrender sparked mass protests in Armenia. On Wednesday, thousands of demonstrators chanting "Nicol the traitor" took to the streets of Yerevan, demanding the resignation of the prime minister.
Pashinyan himself recognized the agreement as a disaster, but stressed that he had no other choice, as otherwise Armenia was facing a military defeat.
"Stepanakert was under a direct threat, and according to the General Staff and the President of Nagorno-Karabakh, the city was not well protected. If it had been captured, thousands of our soldiers would have remained under siege, and as a result we would have lost the territories that were preserved thanks to the agreement," Pashinyan said.