According to the preliminary agreement, the special representatives of Armenia and Turkey Ruben Rubinyan and Serdar Kilic will hold another meeting in Vienna to normalize the relations between the two countries, however the dates are still being specified, Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman Vahan Hunanyan told Armenpress news agency on Friday.
"There is a preliminary agreement between the parties that the next meeting [of the special representatives] may take place in Vienna. The public will be duly informed when the date and place are finally confirmed," he noted.
Hunanyan also commented on Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu's statement that Ankara wants to hold meetings of the special representatives in Armenia or in Turkey, noting that "during previous attempts to settle the issue, meetings were held both in Armenia and Turkey both at the negotiating and presidential level, but as you know, they did not lead to results."
"The proposal to hold meetings in Armenia and Turkey shows that Turkey believes the process is entirely bilateral. In this case, it would be logical not to hear Turkish representatives almost weekly statements that they are advancing the process by coordinating their actions with Azerbaijan," he added.
Hunanyan added that Armenia offered Turkey to open land borders for those with diplomatic passports at the first stage within the framework of normalization of relations, but Ankara has been slow to respond. "We are convinced that the only way to move forward is through continuous clear steps. For example, we have proposed to the Turkish side to open the land border for holders of diplomatic passports in the first phase, but the Turkish side is slow. We believe that this will be a small but substantive and, importantly, logical step. We hope to achieve results in this issue," he said.
According to Hunanyan, "the Armenian side fully agrees with the need to take bold steps." "We have repeatedly demonstrated our willingness to move forward, including the participation of the foreign minister in a diplomatic forum in Antalya and the lifting of the economic embargo. The resumption of air travel between Armenia and Turkey was also an important bilateral step," he added.
Despite the common border, Armenia and Turkey have no diplomatic relations. In 2009 in Zurich, the foreign ministers of the two states signed protocols on the establishment of diplomatic relations and on the principles of mutual relations, but these documents have not been ratified by the parties. On March 1, 2018, Armenia announced the cancellation of the protocols. In 2021, Armenia and Turkey appointed special representatives for the settlement. From Ankara, the position was taken by former Turkish Ambassador to the US Serdar Kılıc, and from Yerevan by Deputy Chairman of the Parliament Ruben Rubinyan.
Representatives of Yerevan and Ankara met in Moscow on January 14 and had their second meeting in Vienna on February 24. Yerevan positively assessed the dynamics of the negotiation process, noting that the opening of the border with Turkey is a priority for the Armenian side.
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Based on materials from TASS