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Turkey Foreign Minister Met with Armenian Civil Society Groups in Ankara

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu met with representatives of some Armenian civil society organizations earlier this week, diplomatic sources said on Tuesday, Today’s Zaman reports.

The representatives of five Armenia-based CSOs were in the Turkish capital as part of a project being undertaken by the Ankara-based Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey (TEPAV), diplomatic sources told the Anatolia news agency, noting that these representatives had held talks at the Foreign Ministry on Monday in addition to meetings with Turkish CSOs.

The course of affairs regarding bilateral relations between Armenia and Turkey, as well as other issues regarding the Caucasus were on the agenda of talks between Davutoğlu and the Armenian representatives, Anatolia reported.

The group also met with Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioğlu and other senior diplomats in addition to Davutoğlu, the agency said without elaborating.

The meetings at the foreign ministry come after a senior Armenian official last month called on Ankara to revive currently stalled efforts to normalize bilateral relations between the two estranged neighbors, while arguing that the improvement of relations between Armenia and Turkey would also serve as an impetus for improving relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and also for peace in the region.

“As neighbors, we should know each other through frequent visits,” ruling Republican Party of Armenia MP Artak Davtyan told a group of journalists visiting the country in late June, while underlining the importance of the activities by civil society organizations to gradually normalize relations between the two countries since the official process has been stalled.