Turkiye, Armenia reaffirm goal of ‘achieving full normalisation’

Turkish and Armenian envoys for the normalisation of ties between the two countries reaffirmed their goal of “achieving full normalisation,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday, reports Anadolu Agency.

“The special representatives reaffirmed the declared goal of achieving full normalisation between their respective countries through this process,” the ministry said in a statement following the third meeting of Turkish and Armenian envoys in the Austrian capital Vienna.

The envoys discussed the possible steps that can be taken for the tangible progress in normalisation, the statement added.

Turkiye’s Ambassador Serdar Kilic and Deputy Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Ruben Rubinyan “reiterated their agreement to continue the process without preconditions,” it added.

Kilic was named as Turkiye’s special envoy to discuss steps towards normalisation with neighboring Armenia on December 15, 2021. Three days later, Armenia appointed its own special representative Rubinyan.

READ: Turkiye rejects US’ commemoration of 107th anniversary of ‘Armenian genocide’

The first round of talks was held in Russia’s capital Moscow on January 14, where both parties agreed to continue negotiations without any preconditions. Turkish and Armenian envoys met for the second time in Vienna on February 24.

Also, a historic bilateral meeting took place between the Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkiye on March 12.

As part of the efforts, Turkiye and Armenia have also resumed commercial flights as of Febuary 2 after a two-year hiatus.

The two countries have been divided on a range of issues, including the 1915 events in the Ottoman Empire and Armenia’s occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh in 1993, since when the land border between Turkiye and Armenia has been closed.

On October 10, 2009, the two neighboring countries signed a peace accord, known as the Zurich Protocols, to establish diplomatic relations and open the border, but failed to ratify the agreement in their respective national parliaments.

Relations between Ankara and Yerevan entered a new phase in the fall of 2020 with the end of the second Nagorno-Karabakh war, which lasted 44 days in which Turkiye helped Azerbaijan recapture its territory.