Turkish and Armenian diplomats will meet tomorrow, July 30, at the border Armenia-Türkiyeas announced by the foreign ministers of both countries, amid efforts to normalize relations.
At the meeting, the two countries’ special envoys will discuss “confidence-building measures that could be developed between the two countries,” Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Onku Ketseli was quoted as saying by the newspaper. AFP.
The opening of borders
At their last meeting in Vienna, the parties agreed to open the land borders for third-country nationals, but no progress has been made in its implementation.
Prime Minister of Armenia Nicole Pashinian visited the Margara (Alican in Turkish) border crossing on July 26.
Armenia declared that Yerevan seeks full normalization of relations with Ankaraincluding the opening of its borders and the establishment of diplomatic relations.
The border has been closed since diplomatic relations between the two neighbors were severed in 1993 due to Nagorno-Karabakh, which until September 2023 was inhabited mainly by Armenians.
Baku recaptured Nagorno-Karabakh in a lightning attack in September 2023 that led to the exodus of all Armenians from the region.
The genocide
The main disagreement between Turkey and Armenia is whether or not the deaths of approx. 1.5 million Armenian subjects of the Ottoman Empire for over 100 years.
Turkey categorically denies that the murders and killings that began on April 24, 1915 with mass arrests of Armenian intellectuals in Istanbul, constitute genocide.
In recent years, some 35 countries – including Russia, France, Germany and the United States – have recognized the Armenian Genocide.
But Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan recently appealed to his compatriots to “overcome the trauma” of the massacre and yes stop missing the “lost homeland” from them.
In particular, speaking on April 24 at an event to celebrate the anniversary offrom the beginning of the events of 1915 that led to the genocide Pashinyan said lingering trauma is preventing many Armenians from moving forward objectively assess international affairs and the challenges facing Armenia.