Pashinyan to Visit Turkey — Rushing to Shake Erdogan’s Hand as Genocide Denial Continues

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is preparing to travel to Ankara in the coming days. This trip will be the first official visit of its kind by an Armenian leader to Turkey in many years. The invitation came from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and the announcement was made by Armenia’s Speaker of Parliament, Alen Simonyan, on Tuesday.

“The Prime Minister’s visit to Turkey is historic, because it is the first time that the head of Armenia will make a visit of such a level,” said Simonyan. This visit comes shortly after Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan traveled to Ankara. There, he met with Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Berris Ekinci to talk about regional matters and direct ties between the two countries. 

These talks are part of the ongoing effort to improve relations between Armenia and Turkey, a process that began more actively in 2022.

Armenia’s Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ruben Rubinyan, who also serves as the country’s special envoy to Turkey, said that these efforts include more than just formal meetings. According to him, officials from both countries, including their foreign ministries, are also in frequent contact behind the scenes.

Azerbaijani media reported that President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan is also expected to visit Turkey this week. It is unclear whether he will meet with Prime Minister Pashinyan during that visit.

Pashinyan last spoke with Erdoğan on June 5 during a phone call. Both leaders said they were open to continuing talks. Before that, Pashinyan had traveled to Turkey in June 2023 to attend Erdoğan’s inauguration ceremony. 

In 2022, both countries' special envoys agreed to eventually open their shared land border. This border has been closed since 1993. Though there has not yet been real progress on this agreement, Armenia has made preparations. The checkpoint in the border village of Margara has been rebuilt and is ready for use.

That checkpoint has already been opened twice for humanitarian reasons. In February 2023, Armenia sent trucks carrying aid to Turkey after a deadly earthquake. The checkpoint was opened again in March 2025 so that Armenia could deliver aid to Syria using Turkish roads.

Still, major issues remain. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan recently said it is time for the ongoing talks to show actual results. “Anyone would be right to say it’s time for that dialogue to yield visible outcomes,” he stated.

Many in Armenia are also concerned about the visit, especially given Pashinyan’s past record of making repeated concessions and Turkey’s ongoing pressure regarding the so- called “Zangezur Corridor”. The trip comes at a time when regional tensions remain high, both in the South Caucasus and across the broader Middle East, adding more weight to the political risks involved.

One of the most painful and unresolved problems continues to be Turkey’s refusal to recognize the Armenian Genocide. Turkey’s strong support for Azerbaijan in the 2020 and 2023 war over Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) also remains a deep wound for the Armenian public. This visit is also taking place against the backdrop of Baku’s ongoing wrongful trials of Artsakh’s leadership, who they kidnapped after they occupied the country. 

—

Support independent reporting from the region by subscribing to The Armenian Report. Our team is funded solely by readers like you.