Latest news with #ArmeniaTurkeyRelations
Al Arabiya
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Armenian Prime Minister To Meet Erdogan In Rare Visit To Turkey Aimed At Mending Ties
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is scheduled to hold talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday as part of the two countries' efforts to normalize ties that were strained over historic disputes and Turkey's alliance with Azerbaijan. The talks between the two countries, which have no formal diplomatic ties, were expected to center on the possible reopening of their joint border. Turkey, a close ally of Azerbaijan, shut down its border with Armenia in 1993 in a show of solidarity with Baku, which was locked in a conflict with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. In 2020, Turkey strongly backed Azerbaijan in the six-week conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, which ended with a Russia-brokered peace deal that saw Azerbaijan gain control of a significant part of the region. Turkey and Armenia also have a more than century-old dispute over the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians in massacres, deportations, and forced marches that began in 1915 in Ottoman Turkey. Historians widely view the event as genocide. Turkey vehemently rejects the label, conceding that many died in that era but insisting that the death toll is inflated and the deaths resulted from civil unrest. The rare visit by an Armenian leader comes after Ankara and Yerevan agreed in 2021 to launch efforts toward normalizing ties and appointed special representatives to lead talks. Pashinyan previously visited Turkey in 2023 when he attended a presidential inauguration ceremony following an election victory by Erdogan. The two have also held talks on the sidelines of a meeting in Prague in 2022. It is Ankara and Yerevan's second attempt at reconciliation. Turkey and Armenia reached an agreement in 2009 to establish formal relations and to open their border, but the deal was never ratified because of strong opposition from Azerbaijan.
Associated Press
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Armenian prime minister to meet Erdogan in rare visit to Turkey aimed at mending ties
ISTANBUL (AP) — Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is scheduled to hold talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday as part of the two countries' efforts to normalize ties that were strained over historic disputes and Turkey's alliance with Azerbaijan. The talks between the two countries, which have no formal diplomatic ties, were expected to center on the possible reopening of their joint border as well as the war between Israel and Iran. Turkey, a close ally of Azerbaijan, shut down its border with Armenia in 1993 in a show of solidarity with Baku, which was locked in a conflict with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. In 2020, Turkey strongly backed Azerbaijan in the six-week conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, which ended with a Russia-brokered peace deal that saw Azerbaijan gain control of a significant part of the region. Turkey and Armenia also have a more than century-old dispute over the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians in massacres, deportations and forced marches that began in 1915 in Ottoman Turkey. Historians widely view the event as genocide. Turkey vehemently rejects the label, conceding that many died in that era but insisting that the death toll is inflated and the deaths resulted from civil unrest. The rare visit by an Armenian leader comes after Ankara and Yerevan agreed in 2021 to launch efforts toward normalizing ties and appointed special representatives to lead talks. Pashinyan previously visited Turkey in 2023 when he attended a presidential inauguration ceremony following an election victory by Erdogan. The two have also held talks on the sideline of a meeting in Prague in 2022. It is Ankara and Yerevan's second attempt at reconciliation. Turkey and Armenia reached an agreement in 2009 to establish formal relations and to open their border, but the deal was never ratified because of strong opposition from Azerbaijan.
News.com.au
13 hours ago
- Politics
- News.com.au
Armenia PM arrives in Turkey for 'historic' visit
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan arrived in Istanbul Friday for a rare visit to arch-foe Turkey, in what Yerevan has described as a "historic" step toward regional peace. Armenia and Turkey have never established formal diplomatic ties, and their shared border has been closed since the 1990s. "Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has arrived in Turkey on a working visit," his spokeswoman Nazeli Baghdasaryan said on Facebook. The visit follows an invitation from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whom Pashinyan is scheduled to meet at Istanbul's Dolmabahce Palace at 1500 GMT, Erdogan's office said. Relations between the two nations have been historically strained over the World War I-era mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire -- atrocities Yerevan says amount to genocide. Turkey rejects the label. Ankara has also backed its close ally, Turkic-speaking Azerbaijan, in its long-running conflict with Armenia. "This is a historic visit, as it will be the first time a head of the Republic of Armenia visits Turkey at this level. All regional issues will be discussed," Armenian parliament speaker Alen Simonyan told reporters. "The risks of war (with Azerbaijan) are currently minimal, and we must work to neutralise them. Pashinyan's visit to Turkey is a step in that direction." An Armenian foreign ministry official told AFP the pair will discuss efforts to sign a comprehensive peace treaty as well as the regional fallout from the Iran-Israel conflict. On Thursday, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev was in Turkey for talks with Erdogan and praised the Turkish-Azerbaijani alliance as "a significant factor, not only regionally but also globally." And Erdogan repeated his backing for "the establishment of peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia". Baku and Yerevan agreed on the text of a peace deal in March, but Baku has since outlined a host of demands -- including changes to Armenia's constitution -- before it will sign the document. - Normalisation - Pashinyan has actively sought to normalise relations with both Baku and Ankara. Earlier this year, he announced Armenia would halt its campaign for international recognition of the 1915 mass killings of Armenians as genocide -- a major concession to Turkey that sparked widespread criticism at home. Pashinyan has visited Turkey only once before, for Erdogan's inauguration in 2023. At the time he was one of the first foreign leaders to congratulate the Turkish president on his re-election. Ankara and Yerevan appointed special envoys in late 2021 to lead a normalisation process, a year after Armenia's defeat in a war with Azerbaijan over then then-disputed Karabakh region. In 2022, Turkey and Armenia resumed commercial flights after a two-year pause. A previous attempt to normalise relations -- a 2009 accord to open the border -- was never ratified by Armenia and was abandoned in 2018. mkh-im/burs-hmw/ach
CTV News
2 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Armenian PM set for rare bilateral visit to Turkey to meet Erdogan
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan arrives for the European Political Community summit in Tirana, Albania, Friday, May 16, 2025. (Leon Neal/Pool via AP) ISTANBUL/TBILISI - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said he will visit Turkey for talks with President Tayyip Erdogan on Friday, a rare bilateral visit that Armenia hopes will reset fraught ties and reopen their shared land border after decades of enmity. The two neighbors have no formal diplomatic relations amid a legacy of deep historical hostility stemming from the World War One mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman forces, considered a genocide by Armenia. Canada and many other countries. Turkey has also taken the side of close-ally Azerbaijan in its longstanding conflict with Armenia. Armenpress state news agency cited Pashinyan on Wednesday as confirming the visit with Erdogan, Turkey's leader of 22 years. Armenian parliamentary speaker Alen Simonyan on Tuesday said the visit would be 'historic,' and partly aimed at eliminating the risk of fresh fighting with Azerbaijan. Pashinyan, who has presided over several defeats to Azerbaijan, has pushed hard to normalize relations with Ankara and Baku. He frames normalization with Turkey as a way for Armenia, whose relations with traditional ally Russia have soured, to build closer ties with Western countries. Earlier this year he said Armenia would no longer lobby for international recognition of the destruction of Anatolia's Armenian population as a genocide, a concession to Turkey that is deeply controversial among many Armenians. A senior Armenian diplomat said the two sides would discuss the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process, and could also discuss the Israeli-Iranian conflict and evacuating foreign citizens from Iran, which neighbors both states. Ankara closed its border with Armenia in 1993, in support of Azerbaijan in the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, an Azerbaijani region that at the time had a mostly Armenian population. Turkey has said it wants to reopen the eastern frontier, but only if Armenia signs a peace treaty with Azerbaijan, with which Turkey has cultural and linguistic ties. Armenia has repeatedly said it wants to reopen the Turkish border, and last year refurbished a crossing point. 'We are ready for a new era in our region,' the diplomat said. A day before the visit, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev will also visit Erdogan in Turkey, Erdogan's office said. Azerbaijan in 2023 restored full control over Karabakh, prompting the region's 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee to Armenia. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan have backed a peace treaty, but progress has been slow, and ceasefire violations have risen along their heavily militarized border in recent months. (Reporting by Jonathan Spicer in Istanbul and Felix Light in Tbilisi; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
Reuters
2 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Armenian PM set for rare bilateral visit to Turkey to meet Erdogan
ISTANBUL/TBILISI, June 18 (Reuters) - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said he will visit Turkey for talks with President Tayyip Erdogan on Friday, a rare bilateral visit that Armenia hopes will reset fraught ties and reopen their shared land border after decades of enmity. The two neighbours have no formal diplomatic relations amid a legacy of deep historical hostility stemming from the World War One mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman forces, considered a genocide by Armenia and many other countries. Turkey has also taken the side of close-ally Azerbaijan in its longstanding conflict with Armenia. Armenpress state news agency cited Pashinyan on Wednesday as confirming the visit with Erdogan, Turkey's leader of 22 years. Armenian parliamentary speaker Alen Simonyan on Tuesday said the visit would be "historic", and partly aimed at eliminating the risk of fresh fighting with Azerbaijan. Pashinyan, who has presided over several defeats to Azerbaijan, has pushed hard to normalise relations with Ankara and Baku. He frames normalisation with Turkey as a way for Armenia, whose relations with traditional ally Russia have soured, to build closer ties with Western countries. Earlier this year he said Armenia would no longer lobby for international recognition of the destruction of Anatolia's Armenian population as a genocide, a concession to Turkey that is deeply controversial among many Armenians. A senior Armenian diplomat said the two sides would discuss the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process, and could also discuss the Israeli-Iranian conflict and evacuating foreign citizens from Iran, which neighbours both states. Ankara closed its border with Armenia in 1993, in support of Azerbaijan in the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, an Azerbaijani region that at the time had a mostly Armenian population. Turkey has said it wants to reopen the eastern frontier, but only if Armenia signs a peace treaty with Azerbaijan, with which Turkey has cultural and linguistic ties. Armenia has repeatedly said it wants to reopen the Turkish border, and last year refurbished a crossing point. "We are ready for a new era in our region," the diplomat said. A day before the visit, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev will also visit Erdogan in Turkey, Erdogan's office said. Azerbaijan in 2023 restored full control over Karabakh, prompting the region's 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee to Armenia. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan have backed a peace treaty, but progress has been slow, and ceasefire violations have risen along their heavily militarised border in recent months.
