Turkish parliament extends mandate of troops deployed in Azerbaijan for 1 more year

The Turkish parliament on Wednesday extended for one more year the deployment of troops sent to Azerbaijan in the wake of a fall 2020 conflict with neighboring Armenia over the Karabakh region.

The extension under a presidential motion will start on Nov. 17.

İsmail Özdemir, a lawmaker, said that with the support of Türkiye, Azerbaijan managed to end the Armenian occupation of its lands.

Özdemir said that the will of the Turkish people signifies a guarantee of peace and emphasized their opposition to activities that escalate tensions in all regions.

Relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

Most of the territory was liberated by Azerbaijan during a war in the fall of 2020, which ended after a Russian-brokered peace agreement and also opened the door to normalization.