We Have a Very Constructive Dialogue with Turkey, Says Mirzoyan

We have a very constructive dialogue with Turkey. This was stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, Ararat Mirzoyan, in an interview with Brazil's Correio Braziliense.

“Within the framework of this dialogue, neither the Armenian nor the Turkish side has put forward preconditions. We have publicly stated that the main goal of establishing diplomatic relations is the opening of borders between Armenia and Turkey. That border was closed by Turkey 34 years ago.

We have recorded certain progress, specifically the lifting of the ban on air freight, the implementation of direct flights, as well as several other measures to strengthen confidence. We have agreed that in the first phase, the border may be opened for citizens of third countries and Armenian and Turkish citizens holding diplomatic passports. However, this agreement has not yet been implemented.

From our Turkish partners, we hear that they are showing restraint regarding the full opening of the border with Armenia until the final resolution of Armenia's relations with Azerbaijan. Although there are no official preconditions, we see that Turkey links its relations with Armenia to the resolution of relations with Azerbaijan. However, we believe that if the border between Armenia and Turkey were opened first, it could have a very positive impact on relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Among the concrete agreements reached with Turkey, we can mention that we have begun infrastructure work on the border on a bilateral basis. Armenian and Turkish experts are already examining the condition of the Gyumri-Kars railway. These processes are already underway.

We are also convinced that sustainable peace in the South Caucasus depends on humanitarian issues, including the clarification of the fate of missing persons and victims of enforced disappearances. At the same time, there are still Armenian prisoners in Baku who are going through staged judicial processes. We believe that their immediate release could contribute to establishing sustainable peace between the Armenian and Azerbaijani peoples,” he said.