Erdoğan, Pashinyan discuss regional issues

ANKARA

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan engaged in a phone call on Sept. 11 to address a range of issues, including regional stability and bilateral relations.

"The leaders stressed the importance of establishing lasting harmony that would benefit the development and welfare of all countries in the area," read a statement released by the Turkish Communications Directorate.

The two leaders expressed their intention to continue diplomatic efforts in this direction, the statement affirmed.

The phone call comes in the wake of concerns raised by the Turkish Foreign Ministry regarding recent elections held in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, as "the worrying development can undermine the ongoing peace talks between Baku and Yerevan."

Armenian residents of Karabakh participated in the elections to elect a new parliament speaker, drawing sharp criticism also from Azerbaijan and the European Union.

Erdoğan also had a phone conversation with his Azerbaijani counterpart, İlham Aliyev, during the G20 summit in New Delhi over the weekend.