Civilnet
By Arshaluys Mghdesyan and Paul Vartan Sookiasian
In an exclusive statement to CivilNet Friday on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey, Turkish Special Envoy for Normalization with Armenia Serdar Kılıç outlined the ongoing steps to begin diplomatic relations.
He described the current process as one of “trust building” between the two countries. Kilic said the two countries are “trying to do our utmost in order to speed up the normalization process because it’s going to be beneficial for both countries and its peoples.”
He praised the chemistry he has with his Armenian counterpart Ruben Rubinyan, saying they understand each other.
He noted that working groups have started a technical study on the restoration process of the medieval Ani Bridge spanning the border at the Akhuryan River and would begin work on it soon.
When asked by CivilNet about the status of the unfulfilled 2022 decision to open the Turkish-Armenian border to third-country citizens and diplomatic passport holders, Kilic replied that they are working to finalize the technical details as soon as possible, but did not know when it would happen.
He was also asked about Azerbaijan’s demand that Armenia must change its constitution before a conflict settlement treaty could be signed, replying that ultimately “this is a domestic issue in Armenia, and the Armenian people and Armenian institutions are going to decide how and when they are going to conduct that amendment process.”
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