In identical statements, the Turkish and Armenian foreign ministries gave few details of the talks held by veteran Turkish diplomat Serdar Kilic and Ruben Rubinian, a deputy speaker of the Armenian parliament.
“The Special Representatives reaffirmed the declared goal of achieving full normalization between their respective countries through this process,” read the statements. “In this sense, they had sincere and productive exchange of concrete views and discussed possible steps that can be undertaken for tangible progress in this direction.”
“They reiterated their agreement to continue the process without preconditions,” added the statement.
Kilic and Rubinian held their first meeting in Moscow on January 14. Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan afterwards voiced cautious optimism over the success of the dialogue welcomed by Russia, the United States and the European Union.
Mirzoyan traveled to Turkey and met with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in March. Cavusoglu described the talks as “very productive.”
Ankara has for decades linked the establishment of diplomatic relations with Yerevan and the opening of the Turkish-Armenian border to a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict acceptable to Azerbaijan. Cavusoglu has repeatedly said that his government coordinates the Turkish-Armenian normalization talks with Baku.