Armenian PM, Turkish president may have first meeting in Prague - Armenian parliament

YEREVAN. Sept 29 (Interfax) - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan may meet in Prague in several days, Ruben Rubinyan, deputy speaker of the Armenian parliament and special envoy in the talks on the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations, said.

"Such meeting may indeed take place. The agenda of the meeting is the process of normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey," Rubinyan said on a radio program, responding to a question about the possibility of a meeting in Prague in several days.

Rubinyan and Turkish envoy on the normalization of relations Serdar Kilic reached an agreement at a meeting in Vienna on July 1 to promptly ensure the crossing of the land border between Armenia and Turkey for citizens of third states visiting these countries and to begin direct flights and cargo transportation between Armenia and Turkey within the shortest period of time possible.

"Representatives of the two countries' relevant agencies were supposed to meet at the border on September 14 to discuss the implementation of these two agreements, but Azerbaijan's aggression against Armenia occurred on September 13-14 and the meeting was postponed at the request of the Turkish side," Rubinyan earlier said.

Armenia and Turkey have no diplomatic relations, and the border has been closed since 1993 at Ankara's initiative due to the Karabakh conflict. The first meeting between special representatives of Armenia and Turkey took place in Moscow on January 14, 2022.

Pashinyan and Erdogan had a phone conversation on July 11. They "emphasized the importance of the bilateral process of settling relations between the two countries, which will also help strengthen peace and stability in the region," the Armenian government's press service said.

Pashinyan and Erdogan said they hope the agreements reached in the July 1 meeting between the special representatives of Armenia and Turkey will be implemented within a short period of time.

Pashinyan and Erdogan have not held face-to-face meetings before.

The Turkish president said a week ago he might meet with the Armenian prime minister at the summit of the European Political Community in Prague in early October.