Turkish Foreign Minister to Visit Armenia Next Week

ANKARA — Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced on Dec. 5 that he would be visiting Armenia next week, marking a first diplomatic push since the protocols between the two countries signed in 2009 which foresaw the development of relations, including a decision on opening the borders, was shelved, the Hurriyet Daily News reports.

Davutoglu said he accepted Armenia’s invitation to attend a meeting of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation in Yerevan on Dec. 12.

“Turkey is one of the founding members of the organization. Its headquarters are located in Istanbul, where Armenia, which is a member of the organization, also has a representative. I received the invitation and decided to accept it after consulting the president,” Davutoglu told reporters during a press conference in Ankara.

Davutoglu met with his Armenian counterpart Eduard Nalbandyan earlier on Dec. 5 during a council of ministers gathering of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) held in the Ukrainian capital Kiev. He also held meetings with his Azeri counterpart Elmar Memmadyarov and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to discuss talks on the thorny Nagorno-Karabakh issue which Ankara considers as key for a thaw in its relations with Yerevan.