Türkiye and Azerbaijan are "sincere" in their efforts to normalize relations with Armenia, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said Wednesday, adding that Ankara expects reciprocal steps from the Yerevan side as well.
"I can easily say this on behalf of brotherly Azerbaijan. Türkiye and Azerbaijan are sincere about normalization," Çavuşoğlu told an event where he met Turkish American community members in Washington, D.C.
In his remarks at the Turkish Embassy residence, Çavuşoğlu recalled that Ankara has formed various mechanisms with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Georgia on the East-West Middle Corridor.
"I hope Armenia will take part in this process, it will take sincere steps toward peace. Unfortunately, we have seen backward steps toward negotiations recently," he said.
Çavuşoğlu said that during his meeting with his U.S. counterpart Antony Blinken, the top American diplomat told him that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian was also "sincere" about the normalization process.
"But we want to see this through action, not words," he added.
Relations between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military illegally occupied Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan and seven adjacent regions.
Clashes erupted on Sept. 27, 2020, with the Armenian Army attacking civilians and Azerbaijani forces, violating several humanitarian cease-fire agreements.
During the 44-day conflict, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and around 300 settlements and villages that Armenia had occupied for almost 30 years.
Türkiye was a key backer of Azerbaijan during the 44-day Karabakh War between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
The fighting ended with a Russian-brokered agreement on Nov. 10, 2020, which was seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia. However, the cease-fire has been broken several times since then.
Recent tensions are said to have ignited because of protests by Azerbaijani environmental activists in the Lachin region over the illegal exploitation of natural resources by Armenia in Karabakh.
Armenia has called on Russian peacekeepers deployed to monitor the peace deal to unblock the Lachin corridor, the lifeline road connecting Karabakh to Armenia.
Speaking on the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, Çavuşoğlu underlined that it is not solely in the hands of Türkiye to end the war but that Ankara’s efforts were continuing.
“At the beginning, we had made quite a progress. The sides approached a cease-fire, as you know. They had announced it themselves, but now the war prolonged, the conditions changed and became more complex. Unfortunately, there are different areas to negotiate now.”
Türkiye is one of the most active countries working to ensure a permanent cease-fire between Ukraine and Russia. Its delicately balanced act of assuming a mediator role by keeping communication channels with both warring sides open provides a glimmer of hope in diplomatic efforts to find a solution and achieve peace in Ukraine.
With the unique position of having friendly relations with both Russia and Ukraine, Türkiye has won widespread appreciation for its push to end the war.
Since the beginning of the conflict, Ankara has offered to mediate between the two sides and host peace talks, underlining support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. While Türkiye has opposed international sanctions designed to isolate Moscow, the country has also closed its straits to prevent some Russian vessels from crossing.
In a breakthrough, Russian and Ukrainian delegations met for peace talks in Istanbul on March 29, 2022. Türkiye also hosted Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers in Antalya earlier in March.
On the other side, Çavuşoğlu said that Türkiye also strives for an end to the Syrian war.
“As Türkiye, we want peace in the region. Recently, we launched a process with the Syrian regime for a political solution, namely the reviving of the political process to reach a result.
The Turkish and Syrian defense ministers held landmark talks in Moscow last month to discuss border security and other issues.
In November, Erdoğan said a meeting with Assad was a possibility after cutting diplomatic ties with Damascus throughout the 11-year conflict.
NATO member Türkiye has played a major part in the conflict, backing Assad's opponents and sending troops into the north. Moscow is Assad's main ally and Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged reconciliation with Ankara.
The conflict in Syria, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people, displaced millions and drawn in regional and world powers, has ground on into a second decade, although fighting has mellowed.
Any normalization between Ankara and Damascus would reshape the decadelong Syrian war. Turkish backing has been vital to sustaining moderate Syrian opposition in their last significant territorial foothold in the northwest after Assad defeated the opposition across the rest of the country, aided by Russia and Iran.
