The EU welcomes the willingness of both Turkey and Armenia to work on the normalisation of relations between the two countries and the appointment of Special Envoys for this purpose.

The first meeting of the Special Envoys this Friday was an important step forward and the European Union encourages both Turkey and Armenia to make further efforts in this regard.

Any further concrete steps towards the normalisation of relations would be good news for regional stability and prospects for reconciliation and economic development.

The normalisation of relations between Armenia and Turkey is of key importance for the EU in its engagement with both countries. Since 2014, the EU has provided more than EUR 4.5 million to projects aiming to prepare the ground for the normalisation of relations in a number of areas such as economy, culture, education, and communication exchange. The EU stands ready to provide further support to possible additional steps towards normalisation of relations.