ISTANBUL ( AFP) — Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul on Friday, June 20, in a rare and symbolic step toward normalizing ties between the historic rivals.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said he held “in-depth” talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul on a rare visit to arch-foe Turkey Friday, June 20, which Yerevan described as a “historic” step toward regional peace. The talks between the two leaders — whose nations have never established formal diplomatic ties and whose shared border has been closed since the 1990s — took place at the Dolmabahce Palace and lasted just over an hour, Erdogan’s office said.
Erdogan’s office said the pair had discussed Armenia’s peace talks with Azerbaijan and efforts to normalize ties with Turkey as well as the recent explosion of violence between Israel and Iran, which shares a border with both Turkey and Armenia. “President Erdogan emphasized the significance of the consensus reached in the ongoing peace negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, given the current circumstances,” according to his office, The pair also addressed “potential steps to be taken within the framework of the normalization process between Turkey and Armenia”, it said.
Erdogan also told Pashinyan that Turkey was working to ease tensions across the region, notably engaging with other leaders about the Iran-Israel standoff. A statement from the Armenian government said: “The two leaders discussed the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations, underlining the importance of continuing constructive dialogue and achieving concrete results.”
In a post on the platform formerly known as Twitter (now X), Pashinyan said he had an “in-depth exchange” with Erdogan at which they “discussed the Armenia-Turkiye normalization process, regional developments, and the importance of sustained dialogue”. He reassured the Turkish leader that Armenia was “committed to building peace and stability in our region”.
Relations between the two nations have been historically strained over the Armenian Genocide. They have been further complicated by Ankara’s close ties to Azerbaijan and support for Baku in its long-running conflict with Armenia. But Pashinyan’s visit sparked unease back home, where police rounded up “several dozen” opposition supporters in the capital Yerevan and beyond, rights groups and a lawyers coalition said. Ahead of the meeting, Armenian parliament speaker Alen Simonyan told reporters: “This is a historic visit, as it will be the first time a head of the Republic of Armenia visits Turkey at this level.”
