Turkish Journalists Visit Armenia on State Budget for Exclusive Interview with PM Pashinyan

A group of journalists from Turkey arrived in Armenia to conduct an exclusive interview with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. The visit was initiated by the Armenian government and funded through Armenia’s state budget, according to Gor Tsarukyan, Director of the Public Relations and Information Center of the Office of the Prime Minister of Armenia.

The Armenian government extended invitations to journalists from ten Turkish media outlets with the goal of presenting Armenia’s perspective on key regional issues. These issues include Armenia’s vision for sustainable peace in the South Caucasus and the ongoing process of normalizing relations with Turkey.

“The initiative is ours,” Tsarukyan stated in an interview with Tert.am. “There were ten media outlets, and the objective is to present Armenia’s approaches to establishing sustainable peace in the region and normalizing Turkey-Armenia relations to the broader Turkish public as directly and in detail as possible.”

Tsarukyan explained that the Public Relations and Information Center carefully selected the participating media organizations. The Armenian side identified influential Turkish media outlets and formally petitioned their editorial offices. As a result, journalists from these outlets traveled to Armenia to engage with government officials, experts, and the prime minister himself.

“We tried to find the most influential [Turkish] media outlets, petitioned to the editorial offices, and they sent corresponding journalists,” he said. The selected outlets included both state-run and private organizations, representing a range of political views from pro-government to opposition.

During their three-day stay, the Turkish journalists conducted interviews not only with Prime Minister Pashinyan but also with other Armenian officials and representatives of Armenia’s expert community. These discussions aimed to provide Turkish audiences with a more nuanced and detailed understanding of Armenia’s stance on regional peace efforts and bilateral relations with Turkey.

Tsarukyan confirmed that all the invited Turkish media representatives accepted the Armenian government’s invitation. “The representatives of the Turkish media have come here with the funds of Armenia’s state budget and will stay here for three days. They will leave tomorrow,” he noted.

Prime Minister Pashinyan himself announced on Tuesday that he had given an interview to several Turkish media outlets. While details of the interview’s content have not yet been fully disclosed, it is expected to cover Armenia’s approach to peace-building, economic cooperation, and diplomatic relations with Turkey.

This engagement with Turkish media comes amid ongoing efforts to normalize relations between Armenia and Turkey, two countries with a complex historical relationship..

Armenia’s decision to fund the visit reflects its commitment to ensuring that its perspective reaches Turkish audiences without distortion. By engaging directly with journalists, the Armenian government seeks to counter misinformation and promote a more constructive dialogue between the two nations.

As the Turkish journalists return home and publish their reports, it remains to be seen how their coverage will influence public opinion and political discourse in Turkey. Nonetheless, Turkey continues to deny committing the Armenian Genocide.