Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a meeting in Istanbul with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. This was reported on Friday, June 20, by the Communications Directorate of the Turkish Presidency on the social network X.

Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Alen Simonyan called the event a historic occasion, stating that it was "the first visit of an Armenian leader to Turkey at such a level." In 2023, Pashinyan had already visited Turkey — he traveled to Ankara for Erdogan’s inauguration. According to Yerevan, the current visit was necessary not only for normalizing relations with Turkey, with which Armenia has no diplomatic relations, but also for resolving the conflict with Baku.

During the meeting at the Dolmabahçe Palace, the Turkish president also referred to contacts with other leaders aimed at reducing risks in the Middle East amid mutual attacks between Israel and Iran. The latter borders both Turkey and Armenia. Ankara is using all diplomatic means to establish stability not only in the Caucasus but in the entire region, reported Anadolu Agency quoting the Turkish president.

Erdogan emphasized the importance of the consensus reached during negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The participants of the Istanbul meeting also discussed the peace process in the South Caucasus.

“There was a detailed exchange of views with President Erdogan in Istanbul. We discussed the normalization process between Armenia and Turkey, regional dynamics, and the importance of sustained dialogue,” Nikol Pashinyan wrote on social network X. “Armenia remains committed to building peace and stability in our region,” he added.

Turkey and Armenia, whose relations have remained strained since 1993 due to the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, have still not fully restored diplomatic ties, reminds the dpa agency.

As noted by the BBC, at this stage, Pashinyan's government wants to decouple the rapprochement between Yerevan and Ankara from the peace agreement process between Armenia and Azerbaijan and to separate the two issues.