Turkish FM hails “very important” steps toward normalization with Armenia

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has credited Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s administration with taking “very important” steps toward normalizing relations between the two countries.

In an interview with the Türkiye newspaper, Fidan said that Ankara is ready to normalize ties when the necessary “conditions” emerge.

“The Pashinyan government has taken very important steps. At the will of our President [Erdogan], even more important steps have been taken, including direct trade and direct flights. It is also clear what needs to be done in the new period. We are ready for normalization when those conditions emerge,” Fidan said.

The Pashinyan administration launched intensified normalization efforts with Türkiye in 2022. Several rounds of talks have resulted in agreements, most recently an announcement on trade facilitation involving procedural changes. The two sides are also exploring the relaunch of the railway.

Another agreement concerned the partial opening of the land border—which has been unilaterally closed by Türkiye since the early 1990s—to diplomatic passport holders and third-country nationals as a first phase. This agreement has yet to be implemented.

On May 4, on the sidelines of the 8th European Political Community Summit in Yerevan, Armenia and Türkiye signed a memorandum of understanding on the restoration of the historic Ani Bridge.