The two leaders met in the city’s Turkish House after participating in the latest session of the UN General Assembly. They reportedly discussed efforts to normalize bilateral ties and the Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiation process.
According to an official Armenian readout of the meeting, they reviewed “in detail” understandings reached by Ankara and Yerevan since 2022 and agreed to “give new impetus” to the normalization process. Pashinian also briefed Erdogan on the “current situation in the Armenia-Azerbaijan settlement process” and his repeated offers to sign a partial peace agreement rejected by Baku.
“Expressing that significant progress has been made on the path to unconditional normalization between Türkiye and Armenia, President Erdogan voiced his sincere support for the continuation of the dialogue process,” read an English-language statement released by the Turkish presidency.
It said Erdogan also stressed that Ankara “supports the establishment of lasting peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia and … a robust friendship between the two countries in the period ahead.”
“The developments that can be achieved in the Azerbaijan-Armenia peace process will also have a positive impact on the Turkey-Armenia normalization process,” Erdogan said in a speech at the UN General Assembly delivered earlier in the day.
Ankara has for decades made the opening of the Turkish-Armenian border and establishment of diplomatic relations with Yerevan conditional on a resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict acceptable to Baku. Turkish leaders stuck to this condition after the start of normalization talks with the current Armenian government in early 2022.
Also, Erdogan reiterated in July that the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace deal should call for a land corridor through Armenia to Azerbaijan’s Nakhichevan exclave bordering Turkey. The head of Turkey’s National Intelligence Agency, Ibrahim Kalin, echoed that statement during a recent visit to Baku. Kalin was also present at Erdogan’s latest talks with Pashinian.
The Armenian government maintains that people and goods moving between Nakhichevan to the rest of Azerbaijan cannot be exempt from Armenian border controls and that the two nations should have only conventional transport links. Pashinian’s press office said that he “informed” the Turkish leader about Yerevan’s position on the issue.
The corridor demanded by Baku and Ankara would pass through Syunik, the only Armenian region bordering Iran. The Islamic Republic has repeatedly warned against attempts to strip it of the common border and transport links with Armenia.