On August 21, Ruben Rubinyan, the Vice-speaker of the Armenian Parliament and the representative of Armenia for normalizing relations between Turkey and Armenia, expressed his condolences on his Twitter account for the traffic accidents in Turkey that resulted in the death and injury of many people. "My deepest condolences to the families and friends of those who lost their lives in traffic accidents in Gaziantep and Mardin. Speedy recovery to the injured," he said.
"Thank You for Your sincere and much-appreciated words of condolences, dear Mr. Deputy Speaker. It is very kind of you," Serdar Kılıç, the representative of Turkey for normalizing relations between the two countries, stated in the comment section of his tweet.
Importantly, on August 14, Serdar Kılıç also sent his condolences for the massive explosion in Yerevan. "I am deeply shocked by the news on the massive explosion at an open-air trading center in downtown Yerevan. I would like to extend my sincere condolences to the family of the victim and wish a speedy recovery to all those that are injured in this tragedy," he stated on his Twitter account.
On July 11, Caucasus Watch reported that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a telephone conversation with the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The Prime Minister congratulated the President on Kurban [Eid al-Adha] Bayram, and the President congratulated the Prime Minister on the upcoming Vardavar-Feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ. The leaders emphasized the importance they attach to the bilateral normalization process between Turkey and Armenia, strengthening the region's peace and stability.
On July 1, Caucasus Watch reported that the fourth meeting of special representatives on the normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey was held in Vienna. The parties agreed to secure, as soon as possible, the land border crossing between Armenia and Turkey for the citizens of the third countries visiting these countries and decided to start the necessary procedures in this direction. In addition, they discussed specific steps that the countries might take to attain the final goal of a full-fledged settlement of the relations between the two countries. The sides reiterated their agreement to continue the settlement process without preconditions.
