Erdoğan and Pashinyan Hold First Tête-à-Tête Meeting in Prague
On October 6, the meeting of Nikol Pashinyan, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the President of Turkey, took place in Prague, the Press Office of the Armenian Prime Minister reported.
In the context of the Armenia-Turkey rapprochement, direct contact and high-level meetings were emphasized by both sides. Nikol Pashinyan and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan discussed the normalization process of Armenia-Turkey relations and possible further steps in that direction.
The need for the speedy implementation of the agreements reached as a result of the discussions of the special representatives of the two countries was emphasized. In particular, it refers to opening the land border for citizens of third countries and implementing direct air cargo transportation between Armenia and Turkey. The sides also exchanged thoughts on regional processes.
Comments from Erdogan after the meeting
Erdoğan spoke to press members after the EPC meetings and talked about his meetings with the state leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia.
He underlined that Turkey has no preconditions for full normalization. He said that Ankara expects Yerevan and Baku to resolve their problems and reach a peace agreement. "Ankara wants to warm the relations between Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia and solve problems between the sides," he said.
Erdoğan said the two countries' foreign ministers and special representatives would meet and make further steps. "We want to warm up relations between Turkey-Armenia-Azerbaijan as soon as possible and solve this issue," he added. Erdoğan told Pashinyan that Turkey has no preconditions for this, adding: "As soon as you make a peace agreement with Azerbaijan, we will have no problem."