3 yıl önce

Turkiye, Armenia appoint special envoys for normalisation talks

Turkiye and Armenia have agreed to name special envoys to try and mend their relations and bring economic prosperity to the region.

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Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that positive statements for the normalisation of relations were recently made from both sides.

Armenia has appointed its Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Ruben Rubinyan to be the special representative for dialogue with Turkiye.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesperson announced the news on Twitter on Saturday.

Earlier this week, Turkiye appointed Serdar Kilic, former ambassador to the US, as special envoy to discuss steps for normalisation of ties with Armenia.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Kilic was appointed with the approval of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Cavusoglu said that positive statements for the normalisation of relations were recently made from both sides, adding that there is a need to take confidence-building measures.

The Biden administration has also welcomed Kilic's appointment.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington "strongly" supports the start of the process.

Diplomatic talks

Turkish and Armenian companies also applied for permission for charter flights between Istanbul and Yerevan, according to Cavusoglu.

The transport ministry will evaluate the applications and there would be more information in the coming days about which airlines could fly, he said.

"God willing there will be a continuation of these (steps)," he told Turkish reporters.

Armenia and Turkiye have never established formal diplomatic ties and their shared border has been closed since the 1990s.

Armenia and Turkiye signed a landmark peace accord in 2009 to restore ties and open their shared border after decades, but the deal was never ratified and ties have remained tense.