Ankara and Yerevan are making progress in normalizing ties as the two countries recently agreed to open their land borders to other nationals who are not Turkish or Armenian citizens "at the earliest date possible," in another step before "full normalization.”
Ankara has been mending ties with several regional countries and has emphasized the need for enhanced cooperation, within this scope steps were also taken with Armenia, particularly following the latest Karabakh war between Baku and Yerevan.
Since then, both Russia and Azerbaijan have voiced support for closer ties between Turkey and Armenia, which is seen within the sphere of regional normalization.
Turkey had offered Armenia to host the first round of normalization talks between the two countries in the Armenian capital Yerevan, the Turkish foreign minister said on Monday.
"We made an offer to Armenia, saying that we can have the first meeting in Yerevan, but Armenia is not ready for this yet due to domestic pressure," Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu told a joint news conference of foreign and interior ministers of Turkey and Austria in the capital Ankara.
Çavuşoğlu said that the Armenian diaspora was divided over the Turkish-Armenian normalization process, adding that there were some protests by extremist groups on Armenian streets.
"We thank Austria (for hosting the normalization talks), but why shouldn't the next meetings be held in Turkey or Armenia?" he questioned.
The Turkish foreign minister also reiterated that his country is in consultation with Azerbaijan at every stage regarding the normalization process.
"After all, we want to continue the process gradually," Çavuşoğlu said. "On the other hand, we support the normalization between Armenia and Azerbaijan," he added.
On Friday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said that both countries also agreed to start direct air cargo trade between each other as soon as possible, according to a written statement following the talks.
The land border between the two neighbors has been closed since 1993, in the wake of clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Turkey and Armenia restored diplomatic contacts last December after they were suspended for years.
In January, special envoys from Ankara and Yerevan began talks to fully restore ties "without preconditions."
Turkish Ambassador Serdar Kılıç and Armenian National Assembly Deputy Speaker Ruben Rubinyan, the special representatives for the normalization, held their fourth meeting in the Austrian capital of Vienna.
The Turkish and Armenian officials also "discussed other possible concrete steps that can be undertaken toward achieving the ultimate goal of full normalization between their respective countries," it added.
"Finally, they reemphasized their agreement to continue the normalization process without preconditions," the statement said.
The first round of normalization talks was held in Moscow on Jan. 14, where both parties agreed to continue negotiations without any preconditions, according to a statement released after that meeting.
The Turkish and Armenian envoys met for the second time in Vienna on Feb. 24, and the third meeting was held on May 3, also in the Austrian capital.
Also, a historic bilateral meeting took place between the foreign ministers of Turkey and Armenia on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum on March 12.
Azerbaijan's victory that ended the occupation of its Karabakh region, previously known as Nagorno-Karabakh, also helped pave the way for the normalization between Turkey and Armenia.
Relations between the two former Soviet countries of Azerbaijan and Armenia have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military illegally occupied Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.
New clashes erupted on Sept. 27, 2020, and the 44-day conflict saw Azerbaijan liberate several cities and over 300 settlements and villages that were occupied by Armenia for almost three decades.
