Turkish president discusses South Caucasus peace with Armenian premier

By Yasin Gungor

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed peace efforts in South Caucasus with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Monday during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in China, according to the Turkish Communications Directorate.

The meeting addressed Türkiye-Armenia relations in light of steps toward permanent stability and peace in the South Caucasus, the directorate said on Turkish social media platform NSosyal.

Erdogan expressed satisfaction with progress in the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process and said Türkiye supports peace, stability and development in the region while continuing to contribute to the process.

He noted that Ankara evaluates steps to increase cooperation between Türkiye and Armenia.

Erdogan arrived in China on Sunday and held bilateral meetings with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that day.

The 25th summit of the SCO opened Monday with President Xi delivering the opening address.

The SCO evolved from the "Shanghai Five" mechanism comprising China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan before Uzbekistan joined as the sixth member. Today, it includes 10 member states, two observers and 14 dialogue partners across Asia, Europe and Africa.

The organization covers approximately 24% of global land area and 42% of the world’s population, with member states accounting for roughly one-quarter of global GDP and trade increasing nearly 100-fold in two decades.