Turkey's Overseas Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu talks to journalists subsequent to his Armenia counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan after their assembly on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Discussion board in Antalya, Turkey, Saturday, March 12, 2022. (AP Picture / Mehmet Guzel)
ANTALYA, TURKEY --
Turkey and Armenia have agreed to press forward with efforts to determine diplomatic relations "with out situations" and proceed the normalization efforts that might result in the reopening of their shared borders for commerce, their international ministers stated Saturday.
Ararat Mirzoyan met together with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu, on the sidelines of a diplomacy discussion board close to the Turkish Mediterranean metropolis of Antalya throughout a uncommon go to to Turkey.
Mirzoyan stated he welcomed Turkey's invitation to the discussion board "as a constructive sign" for improved relations between the 2 international locations which have had many years of bitterness and haven't any diplomatic ties.
"I can say that it was a really productive and constructive assembly," Cavusoglu stated.
Turkey, a detailed ally of Azerbaijan, shut down its border with Armenia in 1993 in a present of solidarity with Baku, which was locked in a battle with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh area.
In 2020, Turkey strongly backed Azerbaijan within the six-week battle with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, which ended with a Russia-brokered peace deal that noticed Azerbaijan achieve management of a big a part of the area.
Turkey and Armenia even have a greater than century-old hostility over the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians in massacres, deportations and compelled marches that started in 1915 in Ottoman Turkey.
The 2 international locations have appointed particular representatives who've thus far held two rounds of talks in Moscow and Vienna to enhance ties.
It's their second try at reconciliation. Turkey and Armenia reached an settlement in 2009 to determine formal relations and to open their border, however the settlement was by no means ratified due to sturdy opposition from Azerbaijan.
This time round, nonetheless, Azerbaijan has given the nod for the reconciliation efforts. Cavusoglu has stated that Ankara would "coordinate" the normalization course of with Azerbaijan.
Cavusoglu informed reporters in Antalya: "Azerbaijan can also be happy with the steps which are being taken and the normalization course of between Turkey and Armenia."
As a primary step towards reconciliation, constitution flights between Yerevan and Istanbul resumed earlier this yr.
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