Turkey's Armenian community welcomes Ankara-Yerevan normalization talks

Turkey's Armenian community is pleased with Ankara and Yerevan's efforts to normalize bilateral relations, the head of the Association of Armenian Foundations in Turkey (ERVAP) said.

The phone conversation between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Monday, the third day of the Muslim holiday of the Feast of Sacrifice, was welcomed by Turkey's Armenians, Bedros Şirinoğlu said in a written statement yesterday (July 13).

While the process of normalization between Turkey and Armenia has led to great expectations recently, the setting created by the direct contact of the two leaders through the phone has added a new dimension to optimism, said the statement.

"Our society, symbolizing the continuity of the tradition of co-existence of two ancient peoples, passionately backs this process of normalization with its rich network of institutions," it said, adding that the leaders of foundations were determined to mobilize all of their experience in this "historical turning point."

"The anticipated full normalization is the primary goal that requires patience," he added.

In a social media post on Monday, Patriarch Sahak II Mashalian, the 85th patriarch of Armenians in Turkey, welcomed the leaders' phone talk, saying it built up people's hopes for peace at a time when the world was disturbed by warfare.

"I pray that the peaceful methods of diplomacy become the winner, not death and wars," he said, hoping that the discussion of leaders would open a new chapter in Turkish and Armenian relations.

Turkey-Armenia normalization

Turkey and Armenia last December named special envoys to discuss the normalization of ties. The envoys have held four meetings since then, with the latest one taking place on July 1 in Vienna.

After the latest meeting, the envoys agreed to enable the crossing of the land border between Turkey and Armenia by third-country citizens visiting the two countries respectively at the earliest date possible.

Ambassador Serdar Kılıç and Deputy Speaker of Armenia's Parliament Ruben Rubinyan also agreed on commencing direct air cargo trade between their countries at the earliest possible date.

Since the start of the normalization talks, flights between İstanbul and Yerevan have resumed. The two countries intend to resume diplomatic relations and achieve what they call "full normalization." (VK)