Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan will make a historic Türkiye visit on June 20, 2025, meeting President Erdogan in Istanbul to discuss regional peace and Armenia-Azerbaijan tensions.
An Unprecedented Meeting in Istanbul
In a move hailed as a historic Türkiye visit, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is set to travel to Istanbul on June 20, 2025, where he will meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The announcement was made by Turkish Communications Director Fahrettin Altun, who described the visit as a significant diplomatic development for the region.
“Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan will pay a working visit to our country on June 20, 2025. Our President, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will receive Mr. Pashinyan in Istanbul,” Altun wrote on X.
This meeting will mark the first official visit at this level by an Armenian head of government to Türkiye—an event widely described as historic by both Turkish and Armenian officials.
Rewriting Regional Diplomacy
The historic Türkiye visit is seen as part of a broader attempt to stabilize the South Caucasus following years of tension, particularly over the long-standing conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Armenian Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan emphasized the visit’s importance, noting that “all regional issues will be discussed.” He added that the risk of renewed war with Azerbaijan is currently minimal, and that diplomatic engagement is vital to maintaining peace.
“Pashinyan’s visit to Türkiye is a step in that direction,” Simonyan said.
Parallel Talks with Azerbaijan
Interestingly, this visit comes immediately after Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev also traveled to Türkiye for talks with Erdogan. In his remarks, Aliyev called the Turkish-Azerbaijani alliance a “significant factor not only regionally but globally.”
President Erdogan has since reaffirmed his support for peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan, placing the upcoming Pashinyan meeting within a wider regional framework aimed at conflict resolution.
From Isolation to Engagement
This historic Türkiye visit is only Pashinyan’s second trip to the country. His first was in 2023 for Erdogan’s inauguration—an appearance that made headlines as Armenia sought to signal openness to normalization.
Diplomatic efforts between the two nations have gained momentum since 2021, when Ankara and Yerevan appointed special envoys to lead a normalization process. The move followed Armenia’s defeat in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, which drastically reshaped regional power dynamics.
In 2022, Türkiye and Armenia resumed commercial flights after a two-year pause—an early but symbolic step toward thawing relations.
Hope Amid Historic Tensions
Observers see the historic Türkiye visit as a major step toward resolving not only bilateral tensions but also contributing to a long-term peace strategy for the region. The shadow of history still looms—marked by a century of conflict, mistrust, and deep geopolitical divisions—but this visit may set the tone for a new chapter in Armenian-Turkish relations.
If successful, it could also send a powerful message to other actors in the region: that diplomacy, even between long-time adversaries, is still possible—and increasingly necessary.
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