On September 24, on the sidelines of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, a meeting took place between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, according to the press service of the Armenian government.
During the meeting, the leaders thoroughly discussed the steps already taken and the existing agreements within the framework of the normalization process of Armenian-Turkish relations. Both sides emphasized their readiness to continue this process without preconditions and to give new impetus to bilateral relations.
Special attention was paid to regional issues. Prime Minister Pashinyan informed President Erdoğan about the current situation in the process of normalizing relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. He confirmed Armenia’s willingness to sign an agreement on the settlement of relations with Azerbaijan.
In addition, Pashinyan presented the Armenian government’s initiative called the "Crossroads of Peace," aimed at strengthening stability and cooperation in the region.
Earlier, BMG reported that the process of normalizing Armenia-Turkey relations began in early 2022. The first meeting of special representatives from Armenia and Turkey took place on January 14 in Moscow. Following that, the envoys held three more meetings in Vienna.
On July 1, 2022, in Vienna, Rubinyan and Kılıç agreed to facilitate the crossing of the Armenia-Turkey land border for third-country citizens and holders of diplomatic passports as soon as possible. However, these agreements have not yet been implemented.
Despite the closed border and lack of diplomatic relations, trade between the two countries has continued almost uninterrupted during the post-Soviet period. According to the Statistical Committee of Armenia, the trade turnover between Armenia and Turkey from January to May of this year exceeded $131 million. Of this amount, only $225,000 accounted for Armenia's exports to Turkey, while the remaining sum represents imports of Turkish goods into Armenia.
The trade figures for the five-month period are only $2 million higher than in the same period in 2023.
