Ankara Claims Significant Progress in Armenia-Turkey Normalization

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said significant progress has been achieved in the normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia over the past four years.

Speaking after the 10th trilateral meeting of the foreign ministers of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia in Istanbul, Fidan said the normalization process between Ankara and Yerevan is continuing in close coordination with Azerbaijan.

“The process of normalizing relations with Armenia is continuing along the same lines and in close coordination with Azerbaijan. Significant progress has been achieved over the last four years,” Fidan said.

According to the Turkish foreign minister, lasting peace in the South Caucasus would create favorable conditions for the development of regional transport infrastructure and economic cooperation.

“As the foundations of peace are strengthened, transport infrastructure projects will yield even more significant results. As transport infrastructure develops, the socio-economic foundations of peace will, in turn, become stronger,” he said.

Fidan described the ongoing peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan as the most encouraging example of this vision.

“The will of the parties has created a concrete opportunity for our region. We support the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia and hope that a peace agreement will be signed without delay,” he stated.

He added that Turkey expects Azerbaijan’s “legitimate concerns” to be addressed as part of the process leading to the signing of a peace agreement.

The Turkish foreign minister also said that the participants in the trilateral meeting reaffirmed their shared vision for the future of the South Caucasus and their commitment to regional cooperation.

“The stronger the cooperation between our countries, the safer and more stable the South Caucasus will become,” Fidan said.

He further noted that Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia have contributed to making the region more resilient in the face of global energy challenges and emphasized the importance of deeper integration in energy and transport infrastructure.

According to Fidan, such integration would also have strategic significance by ensuring safer, faster and more predictable logistics routes between Europe and Asia.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan described the recent meeting between Armenian and Turkish businessmen as an important step toward economic cooperation that could also contribute to political processes.

“On June 2, a very important meeting took place in Kars between Armenian and Turkish businesspeople,” he told members of parliament at a joint committee hearing on the Pashinyan administration’s 2025 budget performance report.

He said the meeting was organized by the foreign ministries of Armenia and Turkey, as well as the chambers of commerce of both countries, insisting that last week’s meeting significantly differed from previous business contacts.

“This meeting was significantly different from any previous business interactions, because it had a very full agenda and also generated great interest among business circles in three eastern and northeastern provinces of Turkey,” Mirzoyan said, without elaborating on the meeting agenda.

In his assessment, this is a good start for deepening Armenia–Turkey economic cooperation. Mirzoyan also said he expects another such meeting to be held in Armenia in the near future.

“I expect that within a reasonable timeframe, we will have a second meeting on the territory of the Republic of Armenia,” the minister said.

“I am aware that concrete talks have already started between business circles and individual companies, and I am confident that we will see the continuation of these talks, their materialization, and tangible results,” Mirzoyan added.

The foreign minister expressed confidence that the process will continue and lead not only to economic but also to positive political outcomes.

“A process has started which, I dare to express confidence, will not stop in general and will bring not only good economic results, but will also bring positive political outcomes in its wake,” Mirzoyan said.

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