Analyst comments on Pashinyan's Turkey visit

Following the June 20 meeting between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul, no joint statement was issued. Instead, the sides released brief and separate announcements, offering little clarity on the talks.

Turkologist Varuzhan Geghamyan noted that the absence of concrete details in the announcements means the true extent of the negotiations will only become clear through developments in the coming weeks.

“Only the steps taken in the coming weeks will reveal the concessions Armenia's de facto leaders have agreed to,” he wrote on Telegram on Saturday.

Geghamyan shared to a 1920 directive by the then Turkish foreign minister to his country’s negotiators during talks with Armenia. The directive emphasized the strategic goal of destroying Armenia both politically and materially, urging negotiators to feign peaceful intentions to mislead both Armenians and the international community.

“It’s absolutely essential that Armenia be eliminated politically and materially... Therefore, the withdrawal from Armenia following a ceasefire agreement with the Armenians is out of the question. The ceasefire terms presented to the Armenians should not aim at withdrawal, but at deception, giving the illusion of peace to the Europeans while misleading the Armenians,” it read.

 “The struggle and resistance must remain central to the national agenda,” Geghamyan added.