President Erdoğan meets with Pashinian and Aliyev in Prague
President Erdoğan meets with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev within the scope of the European Political Community Summit in Prague, Czech Republic, Oct. 6, 2022. (AA Photo)


One of the most important meetings in the normalization process between Türkiye and Armenia since the end of last year took place on Thursday in Prague between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Erdoğan met with Pashinian and Aliyev in Prague, where he attended the European Political Community Summit (EPC).

It is yet to be seen whether the meeting will have repercussions on the unfinished permanent peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia as well as impact the Türkiye-Armenia normalization process.

The first issue on the agenda of the two leaders is naturally the normalization process and the next steps to be taken.

Erdoğan is expected to give messages to Pashinian that the talks between the special representatives should be held alternately in Türkiye and Armenia, not in third countries, that provocations should be avoided in order to avoid further tensions in the region, and that the final peace agreement should be signed with Azerbaijan.

Within the scope of the talks that started in Moscow in January, Turkish and Armenian special representatives, Ambassador Serdar Kılıç and Deputy Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Ruben Rubenyan met four times. The fifth meeting of Kılıç and Rubenyan, which was supposed to be held in September, could not take place due to the violent clashes between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces.

Meanwhile, the president also met Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, and held a trilateral meeting with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Bulgarian counterpart Rumen Radev.

Heads of state and government from 44 countries - the 27 EU members and 17 other European countries, including Türkiye, the U.K., Serbia - participate at the summit in Prague hosted by the Czech government that holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union.