Pashinyan says Armenia to achieve goal of normalizing relations with Azerbaijan, Türkiye

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Monday that he is convinced Armenia will achieve its goal of normalizing relations with Azerbaijan and Türkiye.

Citing remarks in a video posted on social media, Armenian state news agency Armenpress reported that Pashinyan reiterated Yerevan's commitment to fully normalizing ties with both countries.

"I am convinced that we will achieve the goal of normalizing relations with Azerbaijan and Türkiye, which means that the balanced and balancing foreign policy will reach its completion, creating new opportunities for Armenia to become a state of a new quality," Pashinyan said.

He argued that the absence of relations with Ankara reflects an imbalance in foreign policy and stressed the need for Yerevan to maintain ties with all countries.

"This is not a matter of whim; rather, we need to have relations with Türkiye, Azerbaijan, and all states in general," Pashinyan added.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Türkiye was among the first countries to recognize Armenia's independence on Sept. 21, 1991. However, Ankara closed its border and severed diplomatic ties in 1993 following Armenia's occupation of Azerbaijan's Karabakh region.

Relations began to improve after the Second Karabakh War in the fall of 2020, with both countries appointing special envoys to pursue a normalization process.