Meeting between Turkish, Armenian FMs ‘constructive’
Sevil Erkuş ANTALYA
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoglu and his Armenian counterpart, Ararat Mirzoyan, met on March 12 within the scope of the normalization process to end years-long hostilities.
“I can say that it was a very productive and constructive meeting,” Çavuşoğlu told reporters alongside Mirzoyan after their meeting on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum. Recalling that Ankara and Yerevan had launched normalization talks for two rounds after appointing special representatives, Çavuşoğlu said, “Today, we went over and evaluated this.”
“We strive for stability and peace in the South Caucasus. And we receive support from all sides for our efforts in this direction. Azerbaijan is also pleased with the steps taken and the normalization process between Turkey and Armenia,” the minister said.
“Azerbaijan also supports this process. Stability and peace in the region are for the benefit of all of us. We will continue to take steps in this direction. We have agreed with Mr. Ararat on this issue,” he added.
The Armenian foreign minister said he “positively accepted” the invitation by Çavuşoğlu to the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.
“We will continue this process of normalization without preconditions. Our representatives make efforts in this direction,” he said, adding Armenia has a decision to establish “peace and harmony” in the region.
Turkey’s special envoy Ambassador Serdar Kılıç, a former ambassador to the U.S., and Armenia’s special envoy, Deputy Parliament Speaker Ruben Rubinyan, held the first round of normalization talks in Moscow on Jan. 14 and had their second meeting on Feb. 24 in Vienna.
