While in Antalya, Turkey over the weekend, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan not only held meetings with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, and other world leaders, he also sat down with the Anadolu news agency for an interview, in which he claimed that the population of Armenia wants to normalise ties with Turkey.

“Generally, the population of Armenia wants to normalise relations with Turkey. It is reflected in public opinion polls, as well,” said Mirzoyan, referring to an opaque poll that was published last month that reflected a positive outlook for normalising ties with Ankara.

“Of course, both in Armenian and Turkish societies, there are certain groups that, let me say, are skeptical about this process. Officials from both sides should take political leadership to address these issues,” Mirzoyan went on tell Anadolu, whose interview was publicised by the foreign ministry on Tuesday.

“During my meeting with Minister Cavusoglu, we have exchanged views on certain sensitivities and I hope that they will be taken into account,” added Mirzoyan, without providing specifics of the matter.

Mirzoyan met with Cavusoglu Saturday on the margins of a diplomatic summit in Antalya, Turkey, to which Armenia was invited by the Turkish foreign minister soon after special envoys from both countries held their first talks in Moscow to advance the normalisation process. For weeks, Armenia’s foreign ministry dodged questions about Yerevan’s attendance of the summit, until last week when it was revealed that Mirzoyan would travel to Turkey.

The Saturday meeting was the first high-level such gathering between the governments of Armenia and Turkey since 2009, when the infamous Armenia-Turkey Protocols were signed in Zurich, Switzerland. That effort failed largely due to Ankara’s persistent preconditions on Yerevan, that involved a resolution to the Karabakh conflict that was favourable to Baku.

In his interview with Anadolu, he assessed the progression of the normalisation talks as positive, saying that his trip to Antalya was mainly to demonstrate Yerevan’s resolve on the matter.

“I paid a visit to Antalya to participate in the Antalya Diplomatic Forum to reiterate once again the political will of the Government of the Republic of Armenia to achieve full normalisation of relations with Turkey and open the era of peaceful and sustainable development in the region,” Mirzoyan said.

Saying that current normalisation process began when Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan “exchanged public statements, expressing readiness to launch talks between the two countries,” Mirzoyan said that Armenia is ready to establish diplomatic relations with Turkey and to open the border.

“I was glad to hear from my Turkish counterpart that there is a political will on their side to lead the process to that end as well. Amid the rapidly developing situation in the world, I do believe we should not hesitate to undertake concrete steps,” Mirzoyan told Anadolu.

“People are already benefiting from direct flights between Yerevan and Istanbul. Opening of the borders will have its positive impact on the connectivity, trade and economic relations between the two countries, people to people contacts and overall stability in the region,” said Mirzoyan when asked about the “benefits” of normalising relations with Turkey.

He also added, that if the talks continue to progress in a positive manner, the likelihood of a Turkish official visiting Armenia would be high.

“Let me emphasise that this is the first visit of a high-level official of Armenia to Turkey in a decade. Needless to mention that if the process of normalisation proceeds smoothly and we achieve positive results, mutual visits can take place,” said Mirzoyan.