Mirzoyan: Yerevan and Ankara confirmed their readiness to start the  process of establishing diplomatic relations and opening borders  without preconditions

ArmInfo.An agreement was reached with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to develop the process of normalizing Armenian-Turkish relations without any  preconditions. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan stated this  in the National Assembly at a meeting of the RA NA Standing Committee  on Foreign Relations on March 21, recalling that the meeting took  place on the sidelines of a diplomatic forum in Antalya.

According to him, the parties expressed the mutual importance of  normalizing relations and deepening them. Mirzoyan added that the  parties also confirmed their readiness to start the process of  establishing diplomatic relations and opening borders without  preconditions. It should be noted that on February 24, in Vienna, the  second meeting of the special representatives of Armenia and Turkey,  Vice-Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia  Ruben Rubinyan and Ambassador Serdar Kilic took place to normalize  relations. The special representatives confirmed that the ultimate  goal of the talks is a full- fledged settlement between Armenia and  Turkey, which was agreed upon during their first meeting in Moscow on  January 14. The start of the normalization process was announced on  December 13 by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. At the same  time, he stressed that Ankara will act in coordination with  Azerbaijan regarding steps to normalize relations with Armenia.

It should also be noted that on March 10-13, Armenian Foreign  Minister Ararat Mirzoyan took part in the Diplomatic Forum in  Antalya. And the day before, in an interview with Turkish Anadolu  Mirzoyan said that the population of Armenia supports the process of  normalizing relations with Turkey. He noted that certain groups of  people, both in Armenian and Turkish society, are skeptical about  normalization. At the same time, the head of the Foreign Ministry  stressed that officials from both sides should "take on political  leadership to resolve these issues." It is noteworthy that opinion  polls conducted in Turkey and Armenia testify to the opposite. The  vast majority of residents in both countries are not ready for the  normalization of relations, moreover, see each other as threats to  their own security.