Turkiye-Armenia normalisation talks in Russia 'expected in January'

Armenia announces it will allow Turkiye goods in the South Caucasus country as Ankara and Yerevan take steps to normalise ties.

Turkiye's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says Armenia's embargo on Turkish goods was "meaningless."
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Turkiye's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says Armenia's embargo on Turkish goods was "meaningless."

The first meeting between Turkish and Armenian special envoys to discuss steps for normalising the ties between the two countries, is expected to be held next month.

"The date for the first meeting between special representatives of Turkiye and Armenia has not yet been set but it is expected to be held in January," Turkiye's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday.

The envoys at the first meeting will exchange views on a roadmap on which steps can be taken, including confidence-building steps, Cavusoglu noted.

"The first meeting will be important. Afterwards, they will continue in Turkiye and Armenia via videoconference," he added.

On December 15, Turkiye appointed Serdar Kilic, a former ambassador to the US, as the special envoy to discuss steps for normalisation with Armenia. 

Three days later, Armenia appointed National Assembly Deputy Speaker Ruben Rubinyan its special representative for dialogue with Turkiye.

On December 27, Cavusoglu announced that Russia will host the first meeting between Turkish and Armenian special envoys to discuss steps for normalising the bilateral relations.

Moscow on Tuesday announced that it supports talks, noting that "the whole world will benefit from this re-establishment of neighbourly relations."

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

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Yerevan lifts 'meaningless' imports ban

Meanwhile, Armenia announced it was lifting an embargo on Turkish goods from January 1, a move to improve ties.

"A decision was made not to extend the embargo on the import of Turkish goods into the country," the economy ministry said.

Turkiye's Cavusoglu said that he was informed about the step, but added that the embargo "was meaningless anyway."

The two countries have no diplomatic relations, a closed frontier and a long history of hostility dating back to World War I.

The embargo was originally imposed on Turkiye over Ankara's backing of Turkic-speaking Azerbaijan in a six-week war with Armenia in 2020 for the Yerevan-occupied Karabakh region.

The war ended with the absolute win of Azerbaijan that led Russia to broker a ceasefire and withdrawal from decades occupied territories.

Turkiye said charter flights with Armenia would soon begin, and that it is pursuing its normalisation discussions in consultation and coordination with Baku.

READ MORE: Turkiye, Armenia resume flights as normalisation looms

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