Turkey, Armenia resume normalization meetings after two years

Duvar English

Special representatives for the Turkey-Armenia normalization process on July 30 met at the Alican-Margara border gate, holding the fifth meeting two years later.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry stated that Ambassador Serdar Kılıç and Deputy Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly Ruben Rubinyan led the meeting, and confirmed the points agreed upon in their previous meetings.

"The special representatives also agreed to evaluate the technical needs required for the potential activation of the Akyaka/Akhurik railway border gate in line with regional developments and to facilitate reciprocal visa procedures for diplomatic/official passport holders. Lastly, they reaffirmed their commitment to continue this process, which aims for full normalization, without preconditions," the ministry statement continued.

Following this statement, the Armenian Foreign Ministry issued a written statement reiterating the points made by the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

A Turkish diplomatic source told Reuters on July 29 that normalization talks between the two countries would resume today after a two-year hiatus. While the Turkish and Armenian special representatives had held four rounds of talks so far, the Turkish source indicated that the fifth round would be held on Tuesday, July 30, at the Turkey-Armenia border.

The source added, "During the meeting, the special representatives will review developments, and specific confidence-building steps that can be implemented between the two countries will be discussed." 

A spokesperson from the Armenian ministry confirmed the meeting via the social media platform X.

The last official meeting between the officials of the two countries was held in July 2022. However, the two representatives also met on the sidelines of a diplomacy forum held in Turkey this year.

Additionally, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited the Margara Border Gate at the Armenia-Turkey border on July 26. Prime Minister Pashinyan shared on his social media account that the Margara Border Gate had been modernized with a project worth one billion drams (approximately 2.575 million dollars).

The Turkey-Armenia border, which remains closed, was opened twice in February 2023 for the passage of humanitarian aid following the earthquakes in southeastern Turkey on February 6, 2023.

Ankara had severed diplomatic and commercial relations with Armenia in 1993 in support of Azerbaijan during a war the two countries were fighting in the Nagorno-Karabakh region and has deepened its political and military ties with the ethnic Turkic Azeris in recent years.

Since the conflict ended, NATO member Turkey has also been working to revive its historically strained ties with Armenia, though it has said any normalization with Yerevan depended on the progress in its peace talks with Azerbaijan.

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