Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan responded to Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan's statement that normalizing relations with Turkey is vital for Armenia, saying that if Turkey does so now, it will deprive Armenia of the most significant incentive to sign a peace agreement with Azerbaijan.
Ararat Mirzoyan addressed this statement by the Turkish Foreign Minister, responding to a question from "Armenpress".
Question: The Turkish Foreign Minister stated that normalizing relations with Turkey is vital for Armenia, and that if Turkey does so now, it will deprive Armenia of its most significant incentive to sign a peace agreement with Azerbaijan. Hakan Fidan also said that the concept of a link connecting Nakhichevan and Azerbaijan was adopted during the Washington meeting. Do you have any comments?
Answer:
First, establishing diplomatic relations with Turkey and opening the border are really important for Armenia. The further institutionalization of the established peace with Azerbaijan is also essential. Armenia is making sincere efforts in both directions. At the same time, however, neither of these two components is conditioned by the other. Let's see a causal connection between them. In that case, the full normalization of relations with Turkey may not negatively affect, but rather positively impact, the process of normalization between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
As for the lifting of the blockade on transport infrastructure, the main principles of this process were agreed upon at the peace summit held in Washington on August 8: territorial integrity, the inviolability of borders, sovereignty, jurisdiction, and reciprocity. The TRIPP route defined within these frameworks will connect Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan, and Armenia, with other countries and regions across a broader geography. Armenia is making active efforts with interest to bring it to life as soon as possible.
