Erdogan and Pashinyan discuss normalization efforts in New York meeting

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Tuesday for closed-door talks at the Turkish House in New York, held on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.

During the meeting, President Erdogan emphasized the “significant progress” made towards normalizing relations between Ankara and Yerevan and expressed a commitment to continued dialogue.

He also reiterated Türkiye’s support for establishing lasting peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia, stating that Türkiye is ready to assist in facilitating this process.

Türkiye recognized Armenia following its declaration of independence in 1991, but diplomatic and commercial relations were severed in 1993 amid the First Karabakh War, which began with Armenia’s attacks on Azerbaijan.

Following the Second Karabakh War, which concluded in 2020, Türkiye and Armenia mutually appointed special representatives in 2021 to work on normalizing ties.

A series of meetings between Turkish Ambassador Serdar Kilic and Armenia’s National Assembly Deputy Speaker Ruben Rubinyan led to the resumption of direct flights in February 2022 and agreements to open the Türkiye-Armenia border for citizens of third countries and commence air cargo trade in July of the same year.

In July, the special representatives held their fifth meeting at the Alican-Margara border crossing, reaffirming their commitment to pursue the normalization process “without preconditions.”