-Ankara condemned violation of ceasefire by Armenia
DM Monitoring
MOSCOW: The next meeting of the High-Level Russian-Turkish Cooperation Council will be held as soon as circumstances permit, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday. Lavrov made the remark while opening a meeting of the Joint Strategic Planning Group with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
“We are facing the negotiations on a wide range of issues that we must prepare for consideration at the next meeting of the High-Level Cooperation Council, which our presidents will hold as soon as circumstances allow,” the Russian foreign minister said.
The Russian foreign minister said that he will discuss the situation in the economy, culture, political dialogue, situation in the humanitarian field, religious ties, and tourism with his Turkish counterpart.
“Moreover, the parties will discuss the work related to the meeting on the Syrian settlement in the Astana format, the situation in Libya, and the topic related to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue,” Lavrov said.
“The geography of our cooperation is both the Black Sea region and Central Asia, on which we would like to continue to exchange the views,” Lavrov added. “And globally, we interact in international structures – primarily the UN, OSCE, Council of Europe. The exchange of views on all these issues helps coordinate positions, better understand each other. We appreciate our broad and confidential dialogue.”
Meanwhile, the attacks by Armenian armed elements that refused to lay down their arms and retreat in Nagorno-Karabakh against the armed forces of Azerbaijan are in clear violation of the ceasefire regime established by the trilateral declaration of November 10, 2020, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said on Tuesday. “As a result of attacks by Armenian armed groups on November 26, December 8, 11 and 27, there were killed and wounded among the Azerbaijani military and civilians. As one of the signatories to the Trilateral Statement, Armenia is responsible for the withdrawal of all Armenian armed elements and the observance of the ceasefire.
The Azerbaijani side gave the necessary response against the provocations of the Armenian armed elements, using its legal right to self-defense.
To establish a lasting peace in the region, Armenia is required to accept reality at the front and fulfill its obligations under the trilateral Statement,” he said.
