YEREVAN—Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will attend the inauguration of Turkey’s newly reelected President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was announced on Friday.
“The Republic of Armenia has received an invitation to take part in Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s swearing-in ceremony,” stated the Armenian government’s press office. “Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will leave for Ankara on June 3 to participate in the ceremony.”
The brief statement did not specify if the invitation was personally addressed to Pashinyan.
It remains unclear whether Pashinyan will meet with Erdogan or any other Turkish officials during his visit.
Pashinyan congratulated Erdogan on his re-election victory in a run-off vote on May 28. He expressed his hopes of continuing “to work together towards the full normalization of relations between our countries.”
Erdogan’s initial presidential inauguration in 2014 was attended by then Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian.
The last time an Armenian leader visited Turkey was in 2009 when then-President Serzh Sargsyan traveled to the country for a previous round of normalization talks. However, the talks ultimately failed, partly due to strong opposition from Azerbaijan.
