YEREVAN. May 4 (Interfax) - Armenian Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan and Turkish Parliament Speaker Mustafa Sentop discussed issues relating to the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations at a meeting in Ankara on Thursday.
"The Armenian parliament speaker said Yerevan is demonstrating constructive involvement in settling relations with Turkey. He regretted Turkey's closure of [its] airspace to Armenian airlines, [and] expressed hope that this meeting will help resolve the issue," the Armenian parliament press service said.
"In response, Sentop said the placing in Yerevan of the Nemesis monument is a sensitive issue for the Turkish side, which the ban is connected to. The Armenian parliament's speaker said one can offer many reasons why numerous processes have been suspended, but in this context, his visit also contains an impetus to progress," the press service said.
Simonyan said Armenia attaches special importance to opening the border with Turkey.
"Despite the differences in the positions of Armenia and Turkey on some issues, we hope that this meeting will serve as a foundation for establishing Armenian-Turkish interparliamentary dialogue and for forming the basis for it to continue," the Armenian parliament speaker said.
Sentop said Turkey is committed to settling relations with Armenia, and the soonest possible solution to the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict will be a good thing not only for the parties to the conflict, but also for the entire region.
Simonyan confirmed that the Armenian side supports a peaceful agenda and has no intention of deviating from it. "The Armenian parliament speaker said Yerevan has no territorial claims to is neighbors, confirming that Armenia's purpose is to establish lasting peace and stability in the region," the parliament press service said.
It was reported that the meeting addressed issues relating to the allied relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan. Simonyan said in this regard that "Baku's position is not constructive, Azerbaijan's positions are maximalist." "Issues relating to the return by Azerbaijan of Armenian prisoners of war and some issues relating to the post-war situation were also discussed," the parliament said.
According to the press service, Sentop and Simonyan had a 20-minute one-on-one meeting before the official meeting.
The Armenian parliament speaker is currently in Ankara, where he is attending a summit of parliamentary speakers from the countries of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Parliamentary Assembly (PABSEC), in connection with the 30th anniversary of the Assembly's foundation, and also a plenary session of the General Assembly of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation.
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