Azerbaijan’s Defence Ministry announced the launch of joint exercise with Turkey near the border with Armenia on Monday, weeks after the seizure of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Azerbaijan’s lightning-fast military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh ended last month with the transfer of territory to Azerbaijan.
The ministry stated that “about 3,000” soldiers would participate in tactical exercises dubbed “Mustafa Kemal Atatürk 2023” in Baku, the Nakhichevan exclave between Iran and Armenia and in Karabakh, territories formerly held by ethnic Armenians. The exercise is aimed at “ensuring combat interoperability” between allied countries.
The European Union and the United States have taken the lead in mediating a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan in recent years. Russia has also mediated the conflict, but its efforts have diminished after focusing on the war in Ukraine.
On September 19, Azerbaijan launched a lightning advance on Nagorno-Karabakh, causing local authorities to lay down their arms and withdraw their territories to Azerbaijan.
Almost the entire ethnic Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh – some 100,000 people – fled to Armenia after the offensive, triggering a humanitarian refugee crisis.
