Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan has responded to recent comments by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who suggested that if Turkey normalizes relations with Armenia now, it could remove Yerevan’s main incentive to sign a peace deal with Azerbaijan. Mirzoyan countered that normalization with Turkey could, in fact, positively impact Armenia-Azerbaijan relations.
“Establishing diplomatic relations with Turkey and opening the border is indeed important for Armenia. Equally important is institutionalizing peace with Azerbaijan. Armenia is sincerely committed to both tracks. However, neither of these processes is conditional on the other. And if one insists on a causal link, one might find that full normalization with Turkey could actually enhance the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process,” Mirzoyan said, as reported by Armenpress.
He also addressed Fidan’s remarks regarding the agreement on the Nakhchivan-Azerbaijan transport link, reportedly accepted during the Washington meeting.
“Regarding the unblocking of transport infrastructure, at the August 8 Washington summit, the core principles of this process were agreed upon: territorial integrity, inviolability of borders, sovereignty, jurisdiction, and reciprocity. Within this framework, the TRIPP route will connect Azerbaijan to Nakhichevan, Armenia to other countries, and broader regions to one another via both Armenia and Azerbaijan. Armenia is actively working to implement this as soon as possible,” Mirzoyan added.
On August 8, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a joint declaration following a trilateral summit at the White House. During the same meeting, Armenian FM Ararat Mirzoyan and Azerbaijani FM Jeyhun Bayramov initialed the agreement “On the Establishment of Peace and Interstate Relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan.”
