Russia won't join Armenia, Turkey in first meeting on normalization

PanARMENIAN.Net - Russia will not take part in the first Moscow-hosted meeting of the Armenian-Turkish special representatives to normalize relations on January 14, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, told a briefing Thursday, January 13.

According to her, Moscow "generally" supports the normalization of relations between Yerevan and Ankara.

Armenia has named lawmaker from the ruling Civil Contract party Ruben Rubinyan as special envoy to work on the normalization of ties with Turkey. Ankara, meanwhile, has appointed former ambassador to the United States Serdar Kilic for the same role.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said earlier that Ankara is in favor of direct contacts with Yerevan without intermediaries. He expressed hope in late December that the special representatives of the two countries will develop a roadmap for dialogue that will be useful for establishing further contacts.