Armenian PM to make historic visit to Turkey

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
20 Jun 2025 08:33

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's upcoming visit to Turkey, his first official bilateral trip, marks a historic bid to normalize ties after decades of hostility.

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Supporters of the Turkiye Youth Union are seen through a Turkish flag during a protest against former US President Joe Biden's statement, outside the US consulate, in Istanbul, Monday, April 26, 2021. (AP)

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is preparing to visit Turkey on Friday, a rare diplomatic move between two countries burdened by decades of enmity. Armenian officials have called the trip a "historic" step in a broader regional recalibration aimed at securing long-term stability in the South Caucasus.

Turkey and Armenia have never established formal diplomatic ties. Their border has remained closed since the early 1990s, with relations dominated by historical grievances, particularly over the mass killings of Armenians by Turkish soldiers in WWI. Yerevan continues to assert the killings were a genocide, a label Ankara firmly rejects. In addition, Turkey's consistent backing of Azerbaijan in its territorial disputes with Armenia has further undermined prospects for normalization.

Historic overture

Pashinyan's visit comes at the invitation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "This is a historic visit, as it will be the first time a head of the Republic of Armenia visits Turkiye at this level. All regional issues will be discussed," said Armenian parliament speaker Alen Simonyan. He added, "The risks of war (with Azerbaijan) are currently minimal, and we must work to neutralise them. Pashinyan's visit to Turkiye is a step in that direction."

A source from Armenia's Foreign Ministry confirmed to AFP that the two leaders are expected to discuss the stalled peace process with Azerbaijan and broader regional challenges, including fallout from the Israeli war on Iran.

The visit closely follows Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's trip to Turkey, where he and Erdogan reaffirmed the strength of their alliance. Aliyev praised the Turkish-Azerbaijani partnership as "a significant factor not only regionally but also globally." Erdogan, in turn, expressed his continued support for "the establishment of peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia."

Though Baku and Yerevan reached an initial peace agreement in March, further progress has stalled. Azerbaijan has since demanded constitutional amendments from Armenia before signing a final accord. Despite these tensions, Yerevan's posture has shifted. Earlier this year, Pashinyan suspended Armenia's decades-long push for international recognition of the Armenian genocide, a politically costly but strategic concession aimed at unlocking diplomatic progress with Ankara.

The upcoming trip builds on years of intermittent attempts at rapprochement. While Pashinyan did attend Erdogan's inauguration in 2023, this marks his first official bilateral visit. Since 2021, both nations have appointed special envoys to steer normalization talks. In 2022, commercial flights resumed after a long pause. A 2009 agreement to open the border never materialized, having been abandoned by Yerevan in 2018.

Whether this visit leads to a durable thaw or merely symbolic diplomacy remains to be seen.