Turkish, Armenian envoys meet in bid to end chilly relations

MOSCOW (AP) — Special envoys from Turkey and Armenia met in Moscow on Friday for a first round of meetings aimed at ending decades of bitterness between their countries and establishing diplomatic ties. Both countries said the meeting was conducted in a “positive and constructive atmosphere."

Although Turkey was among the first countries to recognize Armenia’s independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the two neighbors share a bitter relationship and have no diplomatic ties.

Both countries hope that the talks will bolster peace efforts for the Caucasus region and lead to the reopening of their border to encourage trade and boost economic ties. Charter flights between Yerevan and Istanbul are expected to resume next month.

The Turkish and Armenian foreign ministries said in separate statements that their special representatives “exchanged their preliminary views regarding the normalization process."

They said the two sides would continue with their negotiations “without preconditions," adding that the date and venue of their second meeting would be decided later.

Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency said the meeting between the envoys lasted for about 90 minutes. Serdar Kilic, a former Turkish ambassador to the United States, is representing Ankara in the talks, while Armenia appointed its deputy parliamentary speaker, Ruben Rubinyan.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow was assisting Yerevan and Ankara establish a direct dialogue and expressed hope that the effort would be successful.

“Armenia and Turkey have appointed their special representatives. Russia helped to reach such an agreement, we are very pleased that their first meeting is taking place in Moscow today,” Lavrov said during a news conference. “Our role is to help...