Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan discussed Türkiye-Armenia relations and global developments in a phone call on Tuesday, diplomatic sources said.
No further information was provided about the phone call.
Türkiye and Armenia had little ties in the past, and relations were entirely cut off in the aftermath of the dissolution of the Soviet Union as Armenia engaged in a conflict with Azerbaijan and occupied the territory of Karabakh. Türkiye is the closest ally of Azerbaijan. Türkiye and Armenia have also been at odds over their shared history. Armenia accuses Türkiye of “genocide” of hundreds of thousands of Armenians during the last years of the Ottoman Empire. Türkiye rejects the accusations, though admits mass deaths of Armenians during their relocation amid World War I within Ottoman territories.
They shut down borders in 1993 after Armenia illegally took control of Karabakh and for years, remained hostile to each other. It was briefly opened in February 2023 to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid following the devastating earthquakes in Türkiye’s southeast. There is already direct air traffic between the countries but the sides last year floated the idea of opening the land borders permanently.
In 2009, the two countries signed a peace accord as the first step to normalization, but it never fully materialized as the then administration in Yerevan faced domestic opposition to a deal with Türkiye. Under the current Pashinyan administration, the sides moved to regain momentum with a peace accord but it was only after Azerbaijan’s victory over the Armenians during the 2020 Karabakh war that cemented the will to move forward for normalization. Azerbaijan itself seeks a comprehensive peace deal with Armenia.