Rubinyan: Armenia open to normalize ties with Turkey

PanARMENIAN.Net - Speaking at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, Armenian National Assembly Deputy Speaker and Special Envoy for Armenia-Turkey normalization Ruben Rubinyan stated that “Armenia is ready to establish fully normalized relations with Turkey as early as tomorrow.”

He made the remark in response to a journalist’s question about whether Ankara continues to link the normalization process with Armenia to its relations with Baku, RFE/RL reports.

“I can tell you what Armenia insists on: Armenia is ready for fully normalized relations with Turkey without any preconditions, and in addition, as you know, the text of the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty has already been agreed upon, and we are ready to sign it as soon as possible—the Prime Minister is ready to do that,” Rubinyan emphasized.

When asked about Azerbaijan both delaying the treaty and simultaneously launching fire toward the Armenian side, Rubinyan responded, “There’s no need for me to explain the reasons. Everyone knows Azerbaijan is not the most constructive country in the world.”

Rubinyan also said he had a productive discussion with Turkish Special Envoy Serdar Kılıç regarding the Armenia-Turkey normalization process during the forum.

Journalists asked whether the opening of the Margara border crossing was discussed.

“That’s one of the agreements for which we have done everything on our side and are waiting for the Turkish side to act. Nothing has changed. This is one of the deals that hasn’t been implemented yet, and it’s not Armenia’s fault,” Rubinyan stated, emphasizing that the Armenian side remains ready to implement the agreement.

In July 2022, during their fourth meeting in Vienna, Armenian and Turkish envoys agreed to open the land border to citizens of third countries in the shortest time possible. Armenia has since renovated the Margara crossing, investing about 1 billion AMD.