Azernews.Az

YEREVAN – An Armenian official has said there is no need to hold talks on normalizing the country’s relations with Turkey, regardless of their format, Panarmenian.net news portal reported.

The Armenian foreign ministry spokesman, Tigran Balayan, was commenting on recent reports about Russia’s efforts to undertake mediation in the process of reconciling the two countries.

Balayan recalled that the two governments signed reconciliation accords in 2009, claiming the agreements should be ratified without pre-conditions.

The mentioned media reports circulated that Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigori Karasin and Turkish Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu have discussed a possible meeting in Moscow between Turkish and Armenian diplomats. Karasin has reportedly visited Yerevan, and US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg is allegedly due to pay a visit to the Armenian capital for the purpose as well.

Turkey and Armenia have been at odds for decades due to Armenia’s occupation of Azerbaijani territory and Armenian claims on 1915 "genocide". In late 2009, the two governments signed agreements to establish diplomatic relations. However, Turkey has assured Azerbaijan, its ally, that the protocols will not be ratified until progress is made in resolving the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno Karabakh. In response, Yerevan suspended parliamentary approval of the accords in April 2010.