Representatives of the two sides met for the first time today in the diplomatic process initiated to normalize relations between Turkey and Armenia.
Turkey’s Special Representative to Armenia Ambassador Serdar Kılıç and Armenia’s Special Representative to Turkey Deputy Speaker of the Parliament Ruben Rubinyan met on Friday, 14 January in Moscow, the capital of Russia.
In a statement made by the two countries on Friday, it was stated that the first round of negotiations after more than a decade of hiatus was “positive and constructive”, adding that after years of hostility, there has been increased hope that relations can be re-established and borders can be reopened.
Turkey has had no diplomatic or commercial ties with its eastern neighbor Armenia since the 1990s.
The negotiations in Moscow were the first attempt to restore relations since the 2009 peace agreement. This deal was never ratified and relations remained strained.
In their statements on Friday, the foreign ministries of the two countries stressed that the talks were held in a “positive and constructive” atmosphere and that both sides were committed to full normalization without preconditions. The ministers said special envoys “exchanged preliminary views on the normalization process”. In the statement made by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the parties agreed to continue the negotiations with the goal of full normalization without preconditions.
The two neighboring countries are at odds on several issues, notably Armenia’s claim that 1 million 500 thousand Armenians were killed in 1915.
Armenia’s claim that the 1915 events were genocide is also supported by the USA and some other countries.
Turkey acknowledges that many Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire were killed in clashes with Ottoman forces during the First World War, but disputes the figures and denies that the deaths were systematic or genocidal.
Tensions over the Nagorno-Karabakh region have also flared up again during the 2020 war. Turkey accused ethnic Armenian forces of occupying territory belonging to Azerbaijan. Turkey, which wants to have more influence in the region, called for rapprochement.
The foreign ministries, in separate but similar statements, stated that the date and place of the next round of negotiations would be finalized later.
Turkish diplomatic sources said that the meeting between the delegations lasted about 1.5 hours.
Armenia’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday it expects the talks to allow for the establishment of diplomatic relations and the opening of borders that have been closed since 1993, Russia’s TASS news agency reported.
Thomas de Waal, senior expert at Carnegie-Europe, said that the opening of Turkey’s borders and the renewal of railways in November will bring economic benefits for Armenia because this route can be used in trade with Turkey, Russia, Armenia, Iran and Azerbaijan.
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said that charter flights will start between Istanbul and Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, as part of the rapprochement of the two countries last year, but that Turkey will coordinate all steps with Azerbaijan.
Flights are scheduled to begin in early February.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also said on Thursday that Armenia must establish good relations with Azerbaijan for normalization efforts to yield results.
The normalization process is not expected to be easy.
Despite strong support for normalization by the USA, which is home to a large Armenian diaspora and caused Turkey’s reaction by calling the 1915 killings genocide last year, experts say the talks will be difficult.
Eurasia Group London Director Emre Peker stated that due to old sensitivities, a cautious approach focused on quick results is expected from both sides, referring to the role of Russia as an intermediary in the Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire and said that it can play a key role as the dominant actor in the region.
Çavuşoğlu also said that Russia contributed to the appointment of special envoys.
Saying that the biggest difficulty will be experienced in terms of historical reconciliation, Peker added that the fate of the talks will depend on “Ankara accepting that it must determine its wishes correctly”.