The foreign ministers of Armenia and Turkey, Ararat Mirzoyan and Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu met Saturday on the margins of the a diplomatic forum in Antalya, Turkey. The two highlighted that normalization of relations between Ankara and Yerevan is a necessity for the entire region.
This was the first meeting of foreign ministers of the two countries since the signing of the Turkey-Armenia Protocols in 2009. That process failed largely due to Ankara’s preconditions imposed on Yerevan. While Armenia and Turkey have agreed to move forward to normalize relations “without preconditions,” similar demands have been voiced by Turkish leaders.
Speaking to reporters following the meeting, Mirzoyan said that he and Çavuşoğlu reaffirmed their readiness to continue the normalization process “without preconditions.”
Mirzoyan and Çavuşoğlu voiced support for the efforts of the special envoys Serdar Kilic and Ruben Rubinyan, who have been appointed to advance the process.
“I think the invitation was quite a positive message, and I consider it necessary to respond to that message in the same positive way,” Mirzoyan told reporters of Çavuşoğlu’s invitation to attend the Antalya meeting. “During our meeting, we reaffirmed the readiness of both sides to continue the normalization process in order to establish relations and open the borders without any preconditions.”
“I am glad to see that all the people of the region, all the states are trying to build peace and stability in our region,” said Mirzoyan. “I want to say that there is that readiness on the part of Armenia to have a peaceful and stable region.”
Çavuşoğlu described the meeting as “very constructive and effective,” reported the Anadolu news agency.
