Turkish, Armenian special representatives to hold 3rd meeting on May 3

By Rabia Iclal Turan

ISTANBUL (AA) - The third meeting of envoys from Turkiye and Armenia for normalization of ties is set for May 3, foreign ministries of both countries confirmed Thursday.

"The next meeting of the Special Representatives of Turkiye and Armenia in the Turkiye-Armenia normalization process, Ambassador Serdar Kilic and Deputy Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Ruben Rubinyan, will take place on May 3 in Vienna," the Turkish Foreign Ministry announced in a statement, while spokesperson for the Armenia's Foreign Ministry also confirmed it on Twitter.

Kilic was named as Turkiye's special envoy to discuss steps towards normalization with neighboring Armenia on Dec. 15, 2021. Three days later, Armenia appointed its own special representative Rubinyan.

The first round of talks was held in the Russian capital Moscow on Jan. 14, where both parties agreed to continue negotiations without any preconditions, according to a statement released after the meeting. Turkish and Armenian envoys met for the second time in Vienna on Feb. 24.

Also, a historic bilateral meeting took place between the foreign ministers of Turkiye and Armenia on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum on March 12.

As part of the efforts, Turkiye and Armenia have also resumed commercial flights as of Feb. 2 after a two-year hiatus.

The two countries have been divided on a range of issues, including Armenia's occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh, and 1915 events between the Ottoman Empire and Armenians, and the border between the two neighboring countries has been closed since 1993.