MP: Armenia optimistic on Türkiye ties, expects sooner border reopening

Sargis Khandanyan, head of the Armenian Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Relations and a member of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party, expressed optimism over the prospects of improving ties between Armenia and Türkiye.

He made the remarks while speaking at a session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Istanbul, Caliber.Az reports, citing Armenian media.

“Today, being in Türkiye, I cannot help but express optimism that the process of normalising relations between Armenia and Türkiye will soon yield positive results.”

He added that the ongoing constructive and active political dialogue offers hope for the institutionalisation of bilateral relations, the opening of borders, and broader cooperation.

Khandanyan also noted that peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan has already been established.

The Türkiye-Armenia border spanning 311 km has been officially closed since April 3, 1993. The closure was a direct response to the First Karabakh War when Armenia occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijani territories, including the Karabakh region.

Now that the Karabakh conflict ended and Azerbaijan fully regained control of its previously-occupied lands, and the normalisation efforts are ongoing, NATO member Türkiye is also working to revive its historically strained ties with Armenia. Though it said that any normalisation with Yerevan depended on the progress in its peace talks with Azerbaijan.

Particularly, Türkiye has stated that it would reopen the border only after Armenia meets all of Azerbaijan’s demands in establishing peace.

By Khagan Isayev