Armenian PM to attend Erdogan's inauguration ceremony

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
2 Jun 2023 18:57

Diplomatic sources in Ankara confirm that Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan was invited to Erdogan's inauguration.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan (AP)

Nikol Pashinyan, incumbent Armenian prime minister, will be reportedly visiting the Turkish capital to attend the inauguration of president-elect Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"The Republic of Armenia has received an invitation to take part in the inauguration ceremony of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will depart for Ankara on June 3 to attend the ceremony," the Armenian government said in a statement.

Correspondingly, a diplomatic source in Ankara confirmed for Sputnik that Nikol Pashinyan has been invited to the inauguration ceremony.

"The decision on the participation is made by the party to whom the invitation was sent. The corresponding invitation has been sent to the Armenian leadership, represented by the Prime Minister. But the decision on participation and on the level is not made by us," the source said.

Yesterday, the head of communications of the Turkish presidential office, said that Erdogan's inauguration which will host foreign leaders is scheduled for June 3.

Last week, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan led his secular, pro-West rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, with all the votes counted in light of the historic run-off election that saw the AKP party overthrowing its rivals both in the presidency and Parliament after garnering the majority of the vote in both elections.

Erdogan will remain president of Turkey until 2028 after winning 52,10% of the vote, giving him an entire decade in power after he originally became president in 2014.

Back in February, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu discussed with his Armenian counterpart the required steps to proceed with normalizing the relations between both countries and the means to accelerate the process.

Turkey's top diplomat also thanked Armenia for its position during the difficult period that his country is going through following the devastating earthquake.