Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Ararat Mirzoyan has clarified his earlier remarks about the possible reopening of the Armenia-Turkey border, emphasizing that he had not announced a decision to open it the following day.
“I said that we might wake up one day, for example on Monday, or wake up tomorrow, and discover that the Armenian-Turkish border had opened, meaning that the process had reached such a mature stage. I thought I had said something coherent that should not raise any questions, right? And then I read headlines saying, ‘Mirzoyan: Armenian-Turkish border will open tomorrow.’ Come on, people, are you making fun of me? I said it was not ruled out. I ask that when you quote me, you reproduce every single letter accurately,” Mirzoyan stressed, Factor.am reported.
The foreign minister reaffirmed that the process of normalizing Armenian-Turkish relations has reached a stage where a decision to reopen the border is possible, although no specific timeframe has been established.
According to the minister, dialogue between Armenia and Turkey is quite intensive, taking place through diplomatic channels and covering various economic and trade-related issues.
He also noted that the two sides are currently holding consultations at the technical and expert levels. One of these discussions concerns the possibility of interconnecting the electricity grids of the two countries.
Addressing Azerbaijan’s absence from COP17 in Yerevan, Ararat Mirzoyan said there was no new tension. He recalled that the conference being held in Armenia is a United Nations event and that Azerbaijan, as a UN member state, could have participated without difficulty.
Asked whether Azerbaijan was obstructing Armenian-Turkish normalization, Mirzoyan replied that it was no secret that officials in Azerbaijan believe, and those in Turkey also say, that the two processes should move forward in parallel, Panorama.am reported.
“The point is that we now have peace with Azerbaijan, and we have trade with Azerbaijan, yes, not geographically directly, not across a shared border. Life is moving forward,” he said.
The border with Turkey remains closed, but the normalization process has already reached a fairly advanced stage, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Ararat Mirzoyan previously stated at the Warsaw Security Forum.
“We could easily wake up tomorrow morning and find a headline in the news about the opening of the Armenian-Turkish border, and so on,” Mirzoyan had remarked.
