Turkish FM: Turkey does not propose to deploy peacekeeping troops in Nagorno-Karabakh after its liberation

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said today that Ankara has not applied to any of the parties with a proposal to deploy peacekeeping troops in Nagorno-Karabakh after the conflict is resolved, Turkish news agency Anadolu said.

He said that the information about Turkish proposal to send peacekeeping troops to the Nagorno-Karabakh region after the signing of a peace agreement was false.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994.

The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.

Davutoglu called for implementation of the plan to create the platform of stability and security in the Caucasus to resolve conflicts in the region. However, Yerevan's refusal from participating in the Turkish project harms only Armenia itself, Turkish minister said.

"Armenia harms only himself by refusing to accept Turkish assistance, he said. Stability in the Caucasus is in the interest of all countries in the region.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's initiative "Caucasus platform" was proposed after the August events in Georgia in 2008.


/Trend/