麻豆影视

Skip to main content

Turkish, Armenian envoys meet in bid to end chilly relations

Armenian honour guards attend a memorial service at the monument to the victims of mass killings by Ottoman Turks, to commemorate the 106th anniversary of the massacre, in Yerevan, Armenia, April 24, 2021. (Grigor Yepremyan/PAN Photo via AP) Armenian honour guards attend a memorial service at the monument to the victims of mass killings by Ottoman Turks, to commemorate the 106th anniversary of the massacre, in Yerevan, Armenia, April 24, 2021. (Grigor Yepremyan/PAN Photo via AP)
Share
MOSCOW -

Special envoys from Turkey and Armenia were in Moscow on Friday to hold a first round of meetings aimed at ending decades of bitterness between their countries and establishing diplomatic ties.

Although Turkey was among the first countries to recognize Armenia's independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the two neighbours share a bitter relationship and have no diplomatic ties.

Both countries hope that the talks will bolster peace efforts for the Caucasus region and lead to the reopening of their border to encourage trade and boost economic ties. Charter flights between Yerevan and Istanbul are expected to resume next month.

Serdar Kilic, a former Turkish ambassador to the United States, is representing Ankara in the talks, while Armenia appointed its deputy parliamentary speaker, Ruben Rubinyan.

Armenia said it expected the talks to result in the establishment of diplomatic ties and the reopening of the border, adding that Yerevan was entering the talks with no stipulations.

"The Republic of Armenia has always stated that it is ready to normalize relations with Turkey without any preconditions," Vahan Hunanyan, the Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman said in an interview with the Armenian press service on Thursday.

It's the regional foes' second attempt at reconciliation.

Turkey and Armenia reached an agreement in 2009 to establish formal relations and to open their joint border, but the agreement was never ratified because of strong opposition from Azerbaijan.

This time around, however, the reconciliation efforts have Azerbaijan's blessing. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said Ankara would "coordinate" the normalization process with Azerbaijan.

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 Nagorno-Karabakh.

Turkey and Armenia also have a more than century-old hostility 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.

Last year, U.S. President Joe Biden formally recognized the killings as genocide, joining several other countries that have already done so.

Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

A major amusement park is part of Ontario's grand vision to turn the Niagara region into Las Vegas north, but Marineland may not fit the bill, the provincial tourism minister says.

Local Spotlight

The Westfield & District Recreation Association hosted its first Witches and Warlocks on the Water event Saturday, with costumed paddlers in pointed hats launching from Westfield Beach.

New Brunswicker Jillea Godin鈥檚 elaborate cosplay pieces attract thousands to her online accounts, as well as requests from celebrities for their own pieces.

A new resident at a Manitoba animal rescue has waddled her way into people's hearts.

Hundreds of people ran to the music of German composer and pianist Beethoven Wednesday night in a unique race in Halifax.

He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.

A meteor lit up our region's sky last night 鈥 with a large fireball shooting across the horizon over Lake Erie at around 7:00 p.m.

Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.

A man who lost his life while trying to rescue people from floodwaters, and a 13-year-old boy who saved his family from a dog attack, are among the Nova Scotians who received a medal for bravery Tuesday.

A newly minted Winnipegger is hoping a world record attempt will help bring awareness for the need for more pump track facilities in the city.