Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan addressed regional issues, Armenia–Azerbaijan and Armenia–Turkey relations, as well as the “Trump Route” project during a press conference on January 15.
According to the fact-checking platform FIP, Fidan’s remarks have been distorted by parts of Armenia’s media and certain political circles, with statements attributed to him that he did not make.
Specifically, during the portion of the press conference concerning Armenia, Fidan—referring to the agreement reached between the United States and Armenia on the implementation of TRIPP (“Trump Route to International Peace and Prosperity”), which had been discussed during Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan’s visit to Washington—said that there are some technical issues related to the project. He added that Turkey and Azerbaijan are also reviewing the agreement and that he had discussed the matter with Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov.
Speaking about Turkey’s expectations from the process, Fidan stated: “We expect that this preliminary agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia will be finalized with a signing, and that the normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia will be implemented as soon as possible, so that we can move forward toward stability and prosperity in the region. At present, this political will exists among the leadership of Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Turkey. All three sides have this intention, and there are only a few steps that Armenia needs to take.”
Fidan also noted that elections are scheduled to be held in Armenia in June 2026 and described this as an important phase. “We see that Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is currently leading in public opinion polls. We sincerely support the constructive role he is demonstrating on this issue. This approach and this political will must continue,” he said.
How These Remarks Were Presented in Armenia
Armenia’s media landscape, as well as political circles—primarily from the opposition—have circulated disinformation claiming that Fidan stated Turkey would support Pashinyan in the upcoming elections.
“The Turkish foreign minister openly stated today that they will support their Nikol Pashinyan in the upcoming elections,” Republican Party member and National Assembly MP Anna Mkrtchyan said in a Facebook video message.
“Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has stated that Turkey supports Nikol Pashinyan in the upcoming elections,” wrote Arman Abovyan, a commentator for Sputnik Armenia.
Later, Narek Karapetyan, coordinator of the “Our Way” movement, also joined the disinformation campaign, writing on Facebook: “Turkey’s foreign minister stated that Turkey supports Pashinyan in the 2026 elections.”
Meanwhile, outlets including Tert.am, Channel 5, and Yerkir ran headlines claiming: “Turkey supports Nikol Pashinyan in Armenia’s elections.”
However, Fidan’s official statements contain no wording indicating that Turkey is interfering in Armenia’s elections or that it is officially supporting Nikol Pashinyan as a candidate.
