Turkish Troops in Lachin Corridor?

The visit by Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioğlu and his assitant Ünal Çeviköz to Russia immediately after the adoption of the US congressional resolution on Armenian Genocide has caught the attention of the Turkish media.

Among other things, according to CNN Turk, the Turkish diplomats, during their visit, discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and presented Ankara’s proposals on the issue to Russia.

According to CNN Turk, the diplomats said Ankara was ready to “make active efforts” in the post-war region as soon as the conflict is resolved. Particularly, Turkey will be ready to help recover infrastructure, as well as reconstruct the Azerbaijan-Armenia-Nakhijevan road and the humanitarian Lachin corridor, a mountain pass within Azerbaijan’s de-jure borders, and the shortest route which connects Armenia with Nagorno-Karabakh.

Turkish publication Sabah, in turn, writes that Turkish diplomats told their Russian colleagues that in order to guarantee security, Ankara is also ready to deploy troops in the Lachin corridor. Besides, according to Sabah, Ankara has already started making efforts so that Azerbaijan withdraws its bellicose statements about resuming war.

Citing a high-ranking anonymous Turkish diplomat, Sabah writes, “The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict must be settled exclusively through peaceful means. Azerbaijan may have made some domestic political calculations. But calls for war are unneccessary.”