Armenian prime minister discusses reconciliation with Erdogan in landmark Turkey visit

ISTANBUL (AP) — Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday about possible steps to normalize ties between their countries that were strained over historic grievances and Turkey’s alliance with Azerbaijan, officials said.

Turkey and Armenia have no formal diplomatic ties and the meeting in Istanbul — the first “working visit” by Pashinyan to Turkey — marks a significant step in reconciliation efforts between the pair.

As well as mending strained relations, the two also discussed the recent peace efforts between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the war between Israel and Iran, according to a statement from Erdogan’s office.

The statement did not provide details on the possible steps toward reconciliation, but Armenia is seeking the reopening of a joint border with Turkey that would help end the country’s isolation.

Turkey, a close ally of Azerbaijan, shut down its border with Armenia in 1993 in a show of solidarity with Baku, which was locked in a conflict with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

In 2020, Turkey strongly backed Azerbaijan in the six-week conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, which ended with a Russia-brokered peace deal that saw Azerbaijan gain control of a significant part of the region.

Turkey and Armenia also have a more than century-old dispute over the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians in massacres, deportations and forced marches that began in 1915 in Ottoman Turkey.

Historians widely view the event as genocide. Turkey vehemently rejects the label, conceding that many died in that era but insisting that the death toll is inflated and the deaths resulted from civil unrest.

The rare visit by an Armenian leader comes after Ankara and Yerevan agreed in 2021 to launch efforts toward normalizing ties and appointed special representatives to lead talks.

Pashinyan previously visited Turkey in 2023 when he attended a presidential inauguration ceremony following an election victory by Erdogan. The two have also met on the sideline o f international gatherings and spoken by telephone.

It is Ankara and Yerevan’s second attempt at reconciliation. Turkey and Armenia reached an agreement in 2009 to establish formal relations and to open their border, but the deal was never ratified because of strong opposition from Azerbaijan.