Türkiye's special envoy says he feels 'at home' in Armenia, stresses 'confidence-building' talks

'We are trying to build confidence so that we'll be able to take over rushing steps that will take us to the full normalization of relations between our two countries,' says Serdar Kilic

Serdar Kilic, Türkiye’s special envoy for normalization with Armenia, said he feels 'at home' in Armenia as talks aimed at improving relations between the two countries continue. “I really feel at home here, but my friends also have the same feeling throughout the normalization process,” he said during a panel at Yerevan Dialogue on Tuesday, describing a spirit of “friendship” and “understanding” in ongoing discussions. Kilic emphasized that the current phase of engagement should not be seen as full normalization. “We are not normalizing Armenia-Türkiye relations. It's not a normalization process. It's a confidence-building process,” he said. “So we are trying to build confidence so that we'll be able to take over rapid steps that will take us to the full normalization of relations between our two countries.” He noted that progress made so far might have seemed unlikely in the past. Kilic also highlighted the importance of broader regional cooperation, particularly in connectivity. “You cannot isolate the Turkish-Armenian normalization, or confidence-building process, from the overall efforts in the region on connectivity,” he said. He stressed that this goes beyond transport links: “We shouldn't only connect or combine connectivity to transport, railroad and so forth. There are more important fields that we have.” Among these, he pointed to digital infrastructure and aviation. “Internet connections are very important, transportation and air transportation are very important,” he said, adding that agreements have already been signed “with Armenian companies… in order to provide better internet services to the Armenian people.” He called for regional ownership of peace efforts. “Any idea for enhancing relations, developing relations, and establishing long-term, durable peace and stability in the region… should come from the region, within the region itself,” he said. Meanwhile, Armenia’s envoy for normalization with Ankara, Ruben Rubinyan, pointed to significant changes in the wider South Caucasus, particularly in relations with Azerbaijan. “The good news is that we are already seizing the moment,” he said, adding that “there is a state of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, because before last August, there was a state of conflict between these countries.” Rubinyan highlighted a sustained period without violence along the border. “More than two years have passed already that no single soldier or service person has been killed from either side on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border,” he said. “There has never been such two years.” He also described recent developments in regional connectivity as “unimaginable.” “Azerbaijan lifted all restrictions on railroad transit to and from Armenia… trains did not run through Azerbaijan to Armenia for almost three decades,” he said, calling it “a fundamental stone in the wall of peace and interdependence.” Economic ties are also beginning to emerge. “We have also started direct trade with Azerbaijan,” Rubinyan said, noting that “Armenian businesspeople have already imported… products from Azerbaijan.” Looking ahead, he also expressed optimism about external support. “I'm absolutely convinced that both European Union and Türkiye have a very positive role to play in the South Caucasus in the coming years or months or weeks or maybe days,” he said. On Monday, Türkiye and Armenia signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly restore the ancient Ani Bridge, in a move described as a step toward strengthening ties between the two countries. The agreement was announced following a meeting between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz on the sidelines of the 8th European Political Community Summit in Yerevan, Armenia's capital. Türkiye was represented at its highest level since 2008 by Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz, reflecting growing momentum in Türkiye's normalization process with Armenia. Relations between the two are seeing one of their most active periods since the 1990s, thanks to the normalization steps taken in recent years.