FM: Türkiye to normalise ties with Armenia only after it signs peace treaty with Azerbaijan

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that relations between Ankara and Yerevan will be normalised following the conclusion of a peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

“Relations between Türkiye and Armenia will be normalised following the signing of the [peace] treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia,” he said, Caliber.Az reports, citing 

He said Ankara views achieving peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia as an important element to ensure stability in the South Caucasus.

“We provide maximum support for reaching agreements and we are happy to see that the sides are getting closer to them. The recent decisions on the border (on delimitation - ed.) are a good example of this progress,” the Turkish foreign minister said.

Notably, Ankara had severed diplomatic and commercial relations with Armenia in 1993 in support of Azerbaijan during a war the two countries were fighting in the Karabakh region.

Since the conflict ended, NATO member Türkiye has also been working to revive its historically strained ties with Armenia, though it has said any normalisation with Yerevan depended on the progress in its peace talks with Azerbaijan.

By Khagan Isayev