Armenian and Turkish Foreign Ministers Discuss Ongoing Dialogue and Regional Developments

YEREVAN — The foreign ministers of Turkey and Armenia spoke by phone on Tuesday one week after a fresh conversation between the leaders of the two states.

“The interlocutors discussed the ongoing dialogue between the two countries as well as issues related to regional developments,” the Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a short statement on the call.

Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan also touched upon “the process of normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey” and “the implementation of agreements” reached for that purpose, added the statement.

One of those agreements reached in 2022 calls for the opening of the Turkish-Armenian border for Armenian or Turkish diplomatic passport and citizens of third countries. Ruben Rubinyan, the Armenian official who negotiated it with senior Turkish diplomat Serdar Kilic, said as recently as on June 11 that unlike Yerevan, Ankara has taken no steps to implement it.

Turkish leaders have repeatedly made clear that further progress in the normalization process is contingent on the signing of an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace accord sought by Azerbaijan. They have also demanded that Armenia open an extraterritorial corridor to Azerbaijan’s Nakhichevan exclave.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan discussed the process in a phone call on June 18. Pashinian’s office said they both “reaffirmed” their commitment to the Turkish-Armenian agreements.