Turkish government's preconditions 'block chances of dialogue' with Armenia, Pashinyan says in Tehran

The Turkish authorities' position today on a possible reconciliation with Armenia has blocked all the chances for us to speak about re-establishing relations, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in Tehran as he met with members of the local Armenian community.

''Turkey repeatedly ties the bilateral relations to the  Armenia-Karabakh [Artsakh]-Azerbaijan triangle. With that being the case, we cannot possibly have any grounds for optimisms - despite our statements that we are ready to unconditionally [re]conisder the relations. Turkey today has a precondition dealing with Karabakh,'' he said, stressing also the utmost importance of the Armenian Genocide recognition.

'The campaign against the crime of genocide is part of the global agenda. So we will continue pursuing the recognition of the Armenian Genocide,'' the prime minister added.

Pashinyan left for Iran on a two-day official visit on Wedensday accompanied by a government delegation. Shortly after his arrival in Tehran, he met with President Hassan Rouhani for private talks, which were later followed by an extended meeting bringing together government officials. The two state leaders also held a joint news conference to sum up the discussions.

At the meeting with the Iranian-Armenians late on Wednesday, the premier was also asked about his informal talks with the Azerbaijani leader.  ''I have practically said all I had to say about the essence of those meetings ... The arrangement is as follows: we must but discuss the possibility of a peaceful settlement [of the Nagorno-Karabakh] conflict,'' he added.

The unity of Armenians will increase twofold and threefold in case of threats to the second Armenian republic, the prime minister said. ''A primary task of our government is to increase Karabakh's status as a subject of international law, hence it is important for us to meet with the president of Azerbaijan. And that, by the way, will be a meeting without a specific agenda which, however, will focus on the format as a key guideline. Unless we have an agreement over the format, the dialogue cannot be possibly considered part of the official negotiations. I speak on behalf of Armena, because Artsakh has a government of its own. So the authorities of Artsakh have to speak on behalf of their country in the negotiation process. We must do all our best to raise Karabakh's role as a subject [of international law],'' Pashinyan added.