Armenian Foreign Minister A © Ararat Mirzoyan and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara, Wednesday, Feb 15, 2023 © Armenia MFA
The Caspian Post last week published my first piece on what can be hoped are real and genuine efforts to accelerate the latest efforts to normalise relations between Yerevan and Ankara following the recent and devastating earthquake in Turkey. During the last attempt to establish diplomatic relations in the late 2000s I covered that process extensively, including working with the BBC, Al Jazeera English, and The Wall Street Journal on various stories. Looks like I’ll now be doing the same throughout 2023.
The arrival in Ankara of Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan following last week’s devastating Kahramanmaras earthquake was sudden and unexpected. The tragedy on February 6 was the deadliest to hit Turkiye since 1923. At the time of writing, the 7.8-magnitude quake has claimed over 35,000 Turkish lives and an additional 6,000 victims in neighbouring Syria. Naturally, international offers of assistance and messages of condolence have flooded in from all over the world.
Including from Armenia.
Both Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and President Vahagn Khachaturyan sent their condolences, while humanitarian assistance and a search-and-rescue team were dispatched by Yerevan to assist in the post-disaster relief effort.
“Saddened by the news of the devastating earthquake in Turkiye and Syria that resulted in the loss of so many lives,” Pashinyan tweeted. “Our deepest condolences to the families of the victims […]. Armenia is ready to provide assistance.”
[…]
Practical steps towards normalizing Armenia-Turkiye relations have been modest up until now. On February 2 last year, commercial flights resumed between Yerevan and Istanbul, while on January 6, 2023, Ankara lifted an effective ban on cargo flights. Eight months ago, Armenia and Turkiye announced that the land border would open for third-country nationals “at the earliest date possible,” but that had not actually happened yet. So, the use of the Margara-Alican border crossing to transport humanitarian assistance this week is at least of some relevance.
[…]
“The progress to be made in the process of normalization of Armenia’s relations with Turkiye and Azerbaijan will ensure peace and prosperity in our region,” Cavusoglu said in Ankara. “I specifically want to say from here that if these three countries take sincere steps, we will establish permanent peace in the South Caucasus. Peace in this region is extremely important for economic prosperity.”
The full article can be read on the Caspian Post here. Meanwhile, some, but not all, of my posts on Armenia-Turkey normalisation since the late 2000s can also be found here.
