Armenia hopes Russia will support normalization with Turkey

Armenia hopes to normalize relations with Russia’s support, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said, during his speech at Wednesday’s plenary session of the seventh Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia, Armen Press reported. 

“As you know, we’ve started a dialogue with Turkey. We hope that we will normalize relations with Russia’s support,” Pashinyan said.

Turkey and Armenia never established diplomatic relations since Armenia declared its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The normalization talks got bogged down due to the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, with Turkey unilaterally withdrawing from talks in 1992. Later attempts also didn’t bear fruit due to Ankara's refusal to recognize the Armenian Genocide. The current talks were initiated after the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War which started in September 2020 and ended in November 2020. The first round was held in Moscow on January 14, 2022. 

The Armenian Prime Minister expressed fear that regional security in the South Caucasus was threatened because Russia, Armenia’s strategic security ally, was now focused on the war in Ukraine.

Pashinyan said Russian support was also vital to settle the Nagorno Karabakh issue since Moscow has close relations with Yerevan and Baku.

Pashinyan also had a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the forum. 

“Of course, one of the most sensitive issues concerns the security situation around Nagorno Karabakh. We always talk to you about it. And I am happy to talk about all these topics during your visit to Russia, within the framework of the economic forum in Vladivostok,” Putin said after the meeting.