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Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Tuesday reaffirmed Türkiye’s position that it will move to normalize relations with Armenia only after a final peace agreement is signed between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
“When Azerbaijan and Armenia sign a final peace agreement, we will be ready to normalize relations with Armenia. We have declared this before,” Fidan told lawmakers during a session of the Turkish Parliament’s Planning and Budget Committee, where his ministry’s 2026 budget was under discussion.
“The biggest reason Armenia is so eager for peace in the region is that it sees a declaration of intent from us regarding the normalization of relations with Türkiye,” he added.
“The opening of the border and the revival of the economy are important issues for them.”
Fidan warned against allowing a frozen conflict to take root in the South Caucasus, saying that prematurely normalizing ties with Armenia could reduce pressure for a final peace accord.
“If we normalize relations at this point, we will have taken away the biggest reason for Armenia to sign a peace agreement with Azerbaijan. Therefore, we may face the possibility of a frozen conflict in the region. We do not want this,” he said.
The foreign minister noted that Armenia and Azerbaijan had initiated a draft agreement in Washington but stated that two key issues remained unresolved: the Zangezur Corridor and certain provisions in Armenia’s constitution.
Fidan stated that once these matters were addressed and a final agreement signed by Azerbaijan, Türkiye would also move to open its border with Armenia.
Turning to Türkiye’s relations with the European Union, Fidan addressed visa restrictions imposed on Turkish citizens, arguing that internal EU politics and anti-immigration sentiment were to blame.
“The reason for the visa restrictions imposed by the bloc is that the migration issue within the EU itself is dramatically changing the internal political equation,” he said. “They have linked the rise of the far right to migrant movements. Specifically, Muslim migration movements, immigration from certain Muslim countries.”
“Now, because Europeans are modern, they can't say, ‘I don't want Muslims.’ They can't openly mention certain countries. That's why they can introduce a series of unnamed, covert measures,” he added.
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Fidan said Türkiye was actively identifying and addressing these restrictions with EU counterparts. He stressed that visa liberalization must follow the mutual dependence that now defines EU–Türkiye relations.
“Europe is aware of this, but due to its identity policy, Europe has suspended certain issues in its relations with Türkiye,” he said.
He also accused the European Union of demonstrating a determination not to admit a Muslim country, saying, “Europe's two driving forces—France has demonstrated a clearer determination, while Germany has remained silent on this issue.”
Fidan emphasized the need to support social, student, and business mobility between Türkiye and European countries, adding, “The only thing that will make this mobility possible is visa liberalization.”
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