Turkiye, Armenia hold first meeting in years to normalise ties

Special representatives from Turkiye and Armenia have held the first meeting aimed at normalisation of relations.

The closed-door meeting on Friday, held in the Russian capital Moscow, lasted for an hour-and-a-half, according to diplomatic sources.

"During their first meeting, conducted in a positive and constructive atmosphere, the Special Representatives exchanged their preliminary views regarding the normalisation process through dialogue between Turkiye and Armenia," said a Turkish Foreign Ministry statement.

Stating that both "parties agreed to continue negotiations without preconditions aiming at full normalisation," the statement added that the date and venue of the second meeting is to be decided in due time through diplomatic channels.

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Roadmap to move forward

On Dec 15, Serdar Kilic, former ambassador to the US, was named Turkiye's special envoy to discuss steps towards normalisation with neighbouring Armenia. 

Three days later, Armenia appointed its own special representative, National Assembly Deputy Speaker Ruben Rubinyan.

Ahead of Friday’s meeting, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that at the gathering, the envoys would exchange views on a roadmap for moving forward, including confidence-building measures.

Turkiye and Armenia have long been divided by a number of issues, from Armenia's refusal to recognise their shared border to historical incidents with the Ottoman Empire's Armenian population in 1915, during World War I.

READ MORE: Turkiye, Armenia appoint special envoys for normalisation talks