Historic foes, Türkiye and Armenia, sped up their thaw in recent years. A rare meeting between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan may contribute further to the ongoing process. Erdoğan hailed "significant progress" toward normalization without preconditions as he received Pashinyan on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Tuesday. Their meeting at the Turkish House (Türkevi) in the city also focused on the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Türkiye's main ally in the region.
The Turkish Presidency's Directorate of Communications, whose head Fahrettin Altun also attended the Pashinyan-Erdoğan meeting along with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, said in a statement that Erdoğan conveyed Türkiye's support during the meeting to "the establishment of lasting peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia and the establishment of a solid friendship between the two countries in the new period." He also said that Ankara is ready to assist in this process.
Erdoğan also expressed his "sincere support" for continuing the dialogue process with Armenia. The president also presented his book "A Fairer World is Possible," which focuses on the call for reforms in international bodies, particularly the U.N., to Pashinyan.
Türkiye recognized Armenia in 1991 following its declaration of independence. However, Ankara severed diplomatic and commercial relations with Yerevan in 1993 amid the First Karabakh War, which began with Armenia’s attacks on Azerbaijan. After the Second Karabakh War ended in 2020, Ankara and Yerevan mutually appointed special representatives in 2021 to normalize ties. After a series of meetings between Turkish Ambassador Serdar Kılıç and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia Ruben Rubinyan, direct flights restarted in February 2022 and it was agreed to open the Türkiye-Armenia border for citizens of third countries and to commence air cargo trade between the two countries that July. This July, the special representatives held their fifth meeting at the countries’ Alican-Margara border crossing and reaffirmed a commitment to pursue the normalization process "without preconditions."
