Humanitarian aid sent Armenia for the victims of the deadly earthquake in Turkey can strengthen the efforts of the two countries to normalize relations, the Turkish Foreign Minister assessed today Mevlut Cavusoglu.

“Armenia extended the hand of friendship to our people in these difficult days, showed solidarity and cooperation in these difficult times (…) This solidarity must continue,” Cavusoglu said during a joint press conference from Ankara with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan.

Mirzoyan’s visit comes amid attempts by Ankara and Yerevan in recent months to mend their relationship, which has been strained largely over the issue of the Armenian genocide by the Ottoman Empire, which Turkey denies.

After the February 6 earthquake in southern Turkey and northern Syria, Armenia sent rescuers and humanitarian aid to Ankara, mostly through the border crossing that had been closed for 35 years.

The opening of this pass is “historic,” said Mirzoyan, whose previous visit was in March 2022.

Many experts talk about “earthquake diplomacy”, which is to help a neighboring country after a natural disaster despite tensions. Accordingly, Ankara helped Yerevan after the 1988 earthquake.

Agreement to “accelerate” the repair of roads and bridges

Cavusoglu also thanked the Armenian rescuers who “rescued a little girl and a woman” in Antiyaman.

In addition, the Turkish Foreign Minister noted that the two countries agreed to “speed up” the repair of roads and bridges connecting Turkey with Armenia.

Relations between the two neighbors are historically extremely strained. Historians say that 1.5 million Armenians were massacred in the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. Turkey admits that between 300,000 and 500,000 people were killed, but denies it was a genocide.

However, last year the two countries began the process of normalizing their relations, mainly by sending special envoys who had many meetings and resuming commercial flights.

“The process of normalization in the South Caucasus region continues. We believe that our cooperation in the humanitarian sphere will strengthen this process,” Cavusoglu said.

Mirzoyan, through an interpreter, said that Armenia remains committed to “the full normalization of relations and the full opening of the border with Turkey.”

^{Source: APE-MEB, Reuters}