Parliament Member: Armenia Is Trying to Keep the Process of Normalizing Relations Between Armenia and Turkey on the Bilateral Agenda

ArmInfo. Armenia is trying to preserve the process of normalizing relations between Armenia and Turkey as an issue on the bilateral agenda, although there are problems in this regard. Chairman of the Standing Committee on Foreign Relations of the RA National Assembly Sargis Khandanyan stated this on September 23 at the APRI Forum 2026 event.

"I do not think that the process of normalizing relations between Armenia and Turkey has reached an impasse; within the framework of this process, certain decisions are being made and certain activities are being carried out," Khandanyan said in response to a question about Turkey's failure to comply with the agreement and open the Armenian-Turkish border.  The parliamentarian noted that, in particular, a working group has been formed on the Kars-Gyumri railway, technical studies are being conducted, the historic bridge in Ani is being restored, cooperation has been established in the aviation sector, and business forums are also being held in the private sector.

"But this does not satisfy us, since we see no obstacles preventing the complete normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations. I believe that Turkey should have opened its border with Armenia and established diplomatic relations with it long ago," Khandanyan said, adding that the Armenian side continues to believe in this and work in this direction.

Touching upon relations between Armenia and Russia, the parliamentarian noted that they need to be transformed. According to him, events have taken place in Armenia demonstrating that Russia cannot be the guarantor of the republic's security. Moreover, the conflict in the region has ended, peace has been established between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and all these circumstances need to be taken into account and bilateral relations brought into line with the new reality. "This does not mean that there should be a rupture between Armenia and Russia. On the contrary, Armenian-Russian relations have great potential for development, provided that the Russian Federation respects Armenia's sovereign decisions," the parliamentarian said, adding that Yerevan will continue discussing existing problems with Russia and trying to resolve them in a calm atmosphere through negotiations.  As the deputy noted, Armenia needs to address a number of key strategic tasks, in particular those related to unblocking and opening regional infrastructure. From this perspective, Yerevan needs to resolve the issue of the railways. "On the one hand, the implementation of the TRIPP program opens up great opportunities for unblocking. On the other hand, if TRIPP remains the only active project in terms of unblocking infrastructure, we will face problems," he stated. In the parliamentarian's opinion, the republic's railway infrastructure should ensure Armenia's connection with the outside world.  He expressed hope that this issue could be resolved with partners in a friendly and calm atmosphere.