Why Erdogan seeks fresh military mandate for Azerbaijan
Turkey’s government has obtained a broad parliamentary mandate for military deployment in Azerbaijan, signaling intentions beyond the joint cease-fire-monitoring center agreed with Russia.
Turkey’s fervent support of its ally Azerbaijan appears to be far from over even after Russia brokered a cease-fire deal between Azerbaijan and Armenia and deployed peacekeepers to monitor the truce in the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Late on Nov. 17, the Turkish Parliament authorized President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to deploy military forces to Azerbaijan amid Turkish-Russian disagreements on the details of a joint cease-fire-monitoring center to be established in Azerbaijan away from the conflict zone in Nagorno-Karabakh. The one-year mandate entitles the president to decide the time, scope and size of military missions.
The authorization bill refers to the planned participation of Turkish soldiers in the joint monitoring center and to Turkey’s commitments to Azerbaijan under the bilateral Strategic Partnership and Mutual Support Agreement as well as other objectives such as enforcing the cease-fire, preventing violations, securing peace and stability in the region and protecting Turkey’s interests.
Why Erdogan needs the mandate is open to question. Russia has ruled out the deployment of Turkish peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh under the deal that President Vladimir Putin brokered Nov. 10. Ongoing talks with Russia suggest that the role it envisions for Turkey is limited to the presence of military experts at the joint monitoring center and drone surveillance, without any operational missions such as observing the cease-fire on the ground and preventing violations.
