ISTANBUL, JUNE 20 (AFP/APP/DNA):Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is set to make a rare visit to arch-foe Turkey on Friday, in what Yerevan has described as a “historic” step toward regional peace.
Armenia and Turkey have never established formal diplomatic ties, and their shared border has been closed since the 1990s.
Relations are strained over the World War I-era mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire — atrocities Yerevan says amount to genocide. Turkey rejects the label.
Ankara has also backed its close ally, Turkic-speaking Azerbaijan, in its long-running conflict with Armenia.
Pashinyan is visiting Turkey at the invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Armenian parliament speaker Alen Simonyan told reporters.
“This is a historic visit, as it will be the first time a head of the Republic of Armenia visits Turkey at this level. All regional issues will be discussed,” he said.
“The risks of war (with Azerbaijan) are currently minimal, and we must work to neutralise them. Pashinyan’s visit to Turkey is a step in that direction.”
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