Türkiye had offered Armenia to host the first round of normalisation talks between the two countries in the Armenian capital Yerevan, the Turkish foreign minister said.

“We made an offer to Armenia, saying that we can have the first meeting in Yerevan, but Armenia is not ready for this yet due to domestic pressure,” Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday in a joint news conference of foreign and interior ministers of Türkiye and Austria in the capital Ankara.

Cavusoglu said that the Armenian diaspora was divided over the Turkish-Armenian normalisation process, adding that there were some protests by extremist groups on Armenian streets.

“We thank Austria (for hosting the normalisation talks), but why shouldn't the next meetings be held in Türkiye or Armenia?” he questioned.

The Turkish foreign minister also reiterated that his country is in consultation with Azerbaijan at every stage regarding the normalisation process.

“After all, we want to continue the process gradually,” Cavusoglu said.

“On the other hand, we support the normalisation between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” he added.

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