Armenia says must normalize ties with Turkey to guarantee own security

Armenia must do everything to guarantee the country’s security, including normalizing ties with Ankara, Foreign Minister Ara Ayvazyan said on Wednesday, as the fallout from Yerevan’s humiliating defeat against Azerbaijan in Karabakh continues to send shockwaves across the country.

Ayvazyan, in an address to parliament, also underscored the need to reopen borders with Turkey, noting that keeping them closed “makes no sense anymore,” according to TASS news.

“Keeping Armenia’s borders with Turkey closed serves no purpose,” Ayvazyan said as he called on ties with Turkey to be normalized.

Ayvazyan also reportedly expressed concern over the joint Turkey-Azerbaijan military exercises as the two nations boost military cooperation.

In December 2020, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country could open its borders to Armenia, if Yerevan takes steps toward regional peace.

"We have no grudge against the people of Armenia. The problem is with the Armenian administration. Over 100,000 Armenians live in my country," he said.

Out of solidarity with Azerbaijan, Turkey closed its borders with Armenia in 1993 and has refused to re-establish diplomatic relations since then.

Nationwide demonstrations have been raging in Armenia with protesters demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan who admitted defeat following a conflict with Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

During the 44-day conflict in Karabakh, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and nearly 300 settlements and villages, while at least 2,802 of its soldiers were martyred. There are differing claims about the number of casualties on the Armenian side, which, sources and officials say, could be up to 5,000.

The two countries signed a Russian-brokered agreement on Nov. 10 to end fighting and work toward a comprehensive resolution.

A joint Turkish-Russian center is being established to monitor the truce, and Russian peacekeeping troops have also been deployed in the region.

The cease-fire is seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia, whose armed forces have withdrawn in line with the agreement. Violations, however, have been reported in the past few weeks, with some Armenian soldiers said to have been hiding in the mountainous enclave.