Erdoğan's Spokesman on Details of Armenian-Turkish Normalization Process

In a conversation with A Haber TV on November 29, Ibrahim Kalın, the Press Spokesman of the Turkish president, described the course of Armenian-Turkish relations positively and talked about possible results shortly.

"If I am not mistaken, on November 1 or 2, a meeting was held at the border with the participation of two delegations [of Armenia and Turkey], during which technical issues were discussed. They refer to the possible opening of the land border, its control, bridges, roads, and customs activities," Kalın said, noting that one can talk freely about positive processes.

In terms of future steps, Kalın mentioned the possibility of opening the border to persons with diplomatic passports and citizens of third countries. Ibrahim Kalın considered the meeting of the leaders of Armenia and Turkey in Prague beneficial, emphasizing it in terms of giving instructions on technical issues. "The Karabakh issue must be resolved; the war is in the past, [which means] that we have entered the phase of the process for its resolution. For the first time in 30 years, there was a direct meeting between the leaders of Turkey and Armenia to discuss serious issues," Kalın said, adding that the foreign ministers and special representatives of Armenia and Turkey continue to be in regular contact.

Kalın emphasized Ankara's steps to coordinate the process with Azerbaijan. "Although Armenia resorted to provocation in August and Azerbaijan responded to it, the negotiations have started again. We always point out to the Armenian side that we are interested in stable peace in the Caucasus and want to see progress in Armenia-Azerbaijan relations," he added.

According to Kalın, coordinating steps with Azerbaijan is important for Ankara because they do not want to solve only one part of the puzzle while others remain unsolved."

See Also

"Caucasus Watch" seeks local specialists from Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and the North Caucasus region. We offer a flexible format of cooperation, competitive remuneration and access to a European readership. Send CV, cover letter and writing sample to redaktion@caucasuswatch.de. Questions: i.dostalik@caucasuswatch.de

Our website uses cookies. By clicking on "I accept cookies", you consent to our use of cookies in accordance with the terms of our Cookie Policy. If you want to disable cookies follow the instructions in our Cookie Policy so that cookies from this website cannot be placed on your device.