Turkish, Armenian officials talk over phone 'more than 500 times'
ANKARA
As part of the normalization process between Türkiye and Armenia, the officials of the two countries will meet in September to exchange views on technical issues, the daily Hürriyet reported.
Officials from the ministries of transport, trade and foreign affairs of the two countries will discuss the technical aspects of the steps taken within the scope of the normalization process, according to sources.
After the last meeting of Special Representatives Ambassador Serdar Kılıç and Deputy Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Ruben Rubinyan in Vienna on July 1, an agreement was reached to launch direct air cargo transportation between the two countries and to open the land border to third country citizens. Within the framework of this agreement, it is planned to discuss the steps to be taken by the technical delegations and to draw up a road map.
Kılıç and Rubinyan, met once in Moscow and three times in Vienna, while the two have talked on the phone more than 500 times to date, according to the sources.
Türkiye and Armenia have not established diplomatic ties since the early 1990s after the latter gained independence. Armenia’s occupation of Azerbaijani territories in Nagorno-Karabakh was the primary reason for Türkiye’s sealing of the borders with Armenia and not establishing normal ties with it.
The normalization process aims to allow the establishment of diplomatic ties, the opening of sealed borders, and starting of economic, trade and transportation projects between the two nations. As part of the confidence-building measures, Türkiye and Armenia resumed charter flights between Istanbul and Yerevan, while Armenia lifted an embargo on Turkish goods.
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mizroyan came to Türkiye in March to attend the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, where he held a bilateral meeting with Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.
