Armenia Seeks Honest Relations as Turkey Offers Empty Words, Continues Genocide Denial

At the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey, a high-level meeting took place between Armenia and Turkey’s special envoys. Ruben Rubinyan, Armenia’s Deputy Speaker of Parliament and special representative, met with his Turkish counterpart Serdar Kilic. The two officials are leading the delicate and slow-moving process to normalize relations between the two countries.

Rubinyan described the meeting as a “good discussion” and shared a short message about it on the social platform X. But while the meeting happened in a peaceful atmosphere, there was no real progress on the biggest issue between Armenia and Turkey—the closed border.

Turkey Admits: “No Progress”

When asked directly by Russian news agency RIA Novosti whether there had been any movement toward opening the border with Armenia, Serdar Kilic simply replied, “No. There is no progress on this matter.”

Kilic added that Turkey wants the normalization process to continue and remains in contact with the Armenian side. But he admitted that there is no set date for the next round of talks.

This statement confirms what many Armenians have suspected: that despite friendly handshakes and polite language, Turkey is not yet ready to take real steps toward peace or partnership.

Armenia Remains Committed to Dialogue

Despite the slow progress, Armenia continues to take part in diplomacy. Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan was also in Antalya for the forum. His visit includes several planned one-on-one meetings with other officials. Armenia is not walking away from dialogue. Instead, it is showing a serious commitment to peaceful and respectful engagement—even when the other side is not offering real changes.

Ruben Rubinyan’s presence and public message are part of that approach. By being transparent and participating in regional discussions, Armenia is positioning itself as the responsible party, willing to talk even in the face of delay and resistance.

Why the Border Matters

The Armenia–Turkey border has been closed since 1993. Turkey shut the border in support of Azerbaijan during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. Since then, Armenia has repeatedly said it is ready for open relations with no preconditions. Turkey, however, continues to tie normalization to issues related to Azerbaijan, especially the status of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and the current state of the Armenia–Azerbaijan conflict. Turkey also continues to deny the Armenian Genocide.