Azerbaijan and Armenia are closer than ever to signing a peace agreement, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
Azernews reports, citing foreign media, that Erdogan made the remarks during his speech at the 16th Congress of Turkish Ambassadors held in Bestepe.
Erdogan stated that the South Caucasus, which has long awaited peace, is currently going through a historic period.
‘Azerbaijan and Armenia are closer than ever to signing a peace agreement. In a dialogue with Azerbaijan, we are also advancing the normalization process with Armenia. Hopefully, some symbolic steps will be taken from the beginning of next year,’ the Turkish president said.
Touching upon regional security issues, Erdogan also condemned the recent attacks on merchant ships in the Black Sea.
‘The mutual attacks carried out in recent days seriously threaten the security of shipping in the Black Sea. Targeting commercial and civilian ships does not benefit anyone. We convey our warnings to both sides in this regard openly and clearly,’ he emphasized.