A memorandum on the establishment of a ceasefire control center in Nagorno-Karabakh was signed after talks between the two countries’ defense ministers on November 11

Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASSMOSCOW, November 24. /TASS/. Issues of the establishment of a Russian-Turkish ceasefire control center in Nagorno-Karabakh were among the topics discussed by Russian and Turkish Presidents, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, over the phone, the Kremlin press service said on Tuesday.

"The leaders exchanged views concerning the work on the establishment of a center for control the ceasefire and hostilities in the conflict zone," it said, adding that the conversation was initiated by the Turkish side.

A memorandum on the establishment of a ceasefire control center in Nagorno-Karabakh was signed after talks between the two countries’ defense ministers, Sergei Shoigu of Russia and Hulusi Akar of Turkey, on November 11.

The office of the Turkish leader said earlier in the day that during the telephone conversation with Putin, Erdogan "expressed hope that a joint center, to be set up by Turkey together with Russia in order to observe and monitor [the implementation of ceasefire], will start operations within the shortest possible timeframe as part of the effort to solve the Nagorno-Karabakh issue and ensure stability in the region on the permanent basis."

Besides, issues of the implementation of the agreements committed to paper in the November 9 joint statement of the Russian and Azerbaijani presidents and the Armenian prime minister on Nagorno-Karabakh were in focus of a telephone conversation between Russian and Turkish Presidents, the Kremlin press service said.

"The two presidents discussed in detail the implementation of the agreements committed to paper in the November 9 joint statement of the Russian and Azerbaijani presidents and the Armenian prime minister on Nagorno-Karabakh," it said.

"Both sides stressed the importance of all-round implementation of agreements geared to ensure stability and normalize life in the region," the Kremlin said, adding that the conversation was initiated by the Turkish side.

Ankara's vision

The presidents of Turkey and Russia, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin, held a phone conversation on Tuesday to discuss, among other things, setting up a joint Russian-Turkish observation center in Nagorno-Karabakh, the Turkish presidential administration said.

"In the course of the talks, [the sides] discussed steps to improve relations between the two countries, first of all to increase the trade turnover between Turkey and Russia. Events in Nagorno Karabakh, Syria and Libya were also discussed," reads a communique, published by the Turkish presidential administration.

"In the course of the conversation, President Erdogan expressed hope that a joint center, to be set up by Turkey together with Russia in order to observe and monitor [the implementation of ceasefire], will start operations within the shortest possible timeframe as part of the effort to solve the Nagorno Karabakh issue and ensure stability in the region on the permanent basis," the statement says.

Besides, Erdogan "expressed his bewilderment over the criticism by other co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group regarding the peace effort in Nagorno-Karabakh" and urged to ensure the Armenian side’s implementation of its commitments under the ceasefire agreement.

Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, with intense battles raging in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The area experienced flare-ups of violence in the summer of 2014, in April 2016 and this past July.

On November 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on a complete ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh starting from November 10. Under the document, the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides are to maintain the positions that they held and Russian peacekeepers are to be deployed to the region.