At the invitation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will make a rare visit to Turkey on Friday (20 June). The visit follows decades of tension and a closed border, and comes amid efforts to normalise relations between the two countries. It will be the first bilateral visit of its kind in over a decade and follows renewed efforts to improve regional ties.
Pashinyan is expected to meet with President Erdoğan this evening to discuss reopening the shared border and advancing the Armenia–Azerbaijan peace process. This visit follows Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s recent stop in Turkey on Thursday (19 June), where he discussed bilateral relations and regional development with President Erdoğan. Erdoğan also seeks to normalise relations with Armenia while maintaining a close relationship with its traditional ally, Azerbaijan.
The visit is seen as part of a wider shift in the South Caucasus, with Armenia rethinking its foreign policy alignment with Russia and moving closer to the European Union, while simultaneously Turkey is seeking to play a larger role in regional diplomacy. This meeting brings optimism that the shifting geopolitical dynamics in the South Caucasus may support the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
