Pakistan, Armenia formally establish diplomatic relations

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - Pakistan and Armenia on Sunday formally established diplomatic relations, a statement from Islamabad's Foreign Ministry said.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar formally exchanged a joint communique with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan in China's northern port city of Tianjin, where the two are attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit.

"Marking a historic step forward, both the leaders affirmed their commitment to the principles and objectives of the United Nations Charter and discussed possible avenues of cooperation, including economy, education, culture, and tourism," the statement said.

The two leaders reaffirmed their desire to work closely with each other at bilateral and multilateral fora to achieve their shared objectives of peace, progress, and prosperity for the peoples of their two countries.

Pakistan did not establish diplomatic relations with Armenia because of the latter's occupation of Karabakh, a territory of Azerbaijan with which Islamabad has close ties.

Azerbaijan recaptured the majority of Karabakh during a 44-day war in the fall of 2020, which ended with a ceasefire brokered by Russia, paving the way for talks on normalization and border demarcation.

Following the capitulation of separatist forces in September 2023, Azerbaijan established full sovereignty over the region.

Baku and Yerevan reached a peace agreement in March, and earlier this month, the leaders of the two former Soviet states signed a US-brokered agreement to end the conflict during a meeting with President Donald Trump.