Azatutyun.am. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu held on Saturday what he described as “very productive” talks with his visiting Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan which highlighted ongoing attempts to normalize Turkish-Armenian relations.
Cavusoglu and Mirzoyan met on the sidelines of an international security forum in the Turkish resort city of Antalya following two rounds of negotiations held by special envoys of the two neighboring states.
“We had a very productive and constructive meeting,” Cavusoglu told reporters.
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“Everyone will benefit from the establishment of peace and stability in the region, and we will continue to make efforts in that direction,” he said. “I and Mr. Mirzoyan agreed on this issue.”
“During the meeting we reaffirmed the readiness of the two sides to continue, without any preconditions, the normalization process for the purpose of establishing [diplomatic] relations and opening border,” Mirzoyan said, for his part. “Our two representatives are working on this.”
Neither minister announced concrete understandings reached by them.
Mirzoyan last month voiced cautious optimism over the success of the Turkish-Armenian dialogue welcomed by the United States, the European Union and Russia.
Cavusoglu said on Saturday that Azerbaijan is also “content” with the dialogue. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov was also attending the Antalya conference.
Ankara has for decades linked the establishment of diplomatic relations with Yerevan and the opening of the Turkish-Armenian border to a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict acceptable to Azerbaijan. Cavusoglu has repeatedly made clear that his government will coordinate the Turkish-Armenian normalization talks with Baku.
“On March 12, on the margins of the Antalya Diplomatic forum Foriegn Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan met with the Foriegn Minister of Turkey Mevlut Cavusoglu. Minister Mirzoyan thanked Minister Cavusoglu for the invitation. The Foriegn Ministers reiterated their willingness to conduct the process aimed at full normalization and good neighbourly relations between Armenia and Turkey without preconditions. They also agreed that normalisation is needed for the entire region. The two Ministers expressed their support to the works of the Special Representatives of the two countries to that end”, reports the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia