Garo Paylan, the Armenian-origin deputy of Turkey’s “Peoples’ Democratic Party” (HDP), has sent questions to Turkey’s Vice President and Foreign Minister.
“I propose that the following questions be answered in writing by the Vice President of the Republic, Mr. Fuat Oktay, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, in accordance with Article 98 of the Constitution and Articles 96 and 99 of the internal rules of procedure of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.
Turkey, although being the first country to recognize Armenia’s independence in 1991, has kept its border with Armenia closed since 1993 to this day because of the Karabakh war, without also establishing diplomatic and political relations.
Since 1993, the political authorities have tied the normalization of relations with Armenia to the withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from Azerbaijani territory. With the ceasefire agreement established at the end of last year’s Karabakh war, the Armenian forces withdrew from the territories they had been holding for decades.
Recently, both the President of the Republic, Erdoğan, and the Prime Minister of Armenia, Pashinyan, made statements that contained calls in the direction of the normalization of Turkey-Armenia relations.
In this regard.
What kind of path will you adopt in the direction of the normalization of relations with Armenia?
When will you open the border with Armenia? When will you establish diplomatic relations with Armenia?
What steps will you take to create an atmosphere of trust with Armenia?
Have negotiations been initiated with Armenia for the establishment of land and railway transport?
Will you take the initiative to start direct flights to Armenia?”
