Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a telephone conversation with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, the prime minister’s office reported on Monday. This was the first time the leaders of the two countries have spoken since the normalization process began earlier this year.

According to the statement, the two “emphasized the importance the bilateral normalization process between their respective countries which will also contribute to the strengthening of peace and stability in the region.”

To this end, they expressed their expectation for the early implementation of the agreements reached during the meeting between the special representatives of their countries on July 1.

The special envoys, Ruben Rubinyan and Serdar Kilic, met in Vienna on July 1, after which it was announced that Armenia and Turkey had agreed to open the border to citizens of third countries and begin air cargo transportation.

Last week, Pashinyan instructed the relevant government bodies to begin the implementation of these decisions “as quickly as possible.”

The Turkey-Armenia land border has been closed since 1993.

Late last year, Armenia and Turkey announced the normalization process without any preconditions and each country appointed a special envoy to lead the talks. The envoys held their first meeting January in Moscow, and two subsequent meetings in Vienna. Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan attended a diplomatic conference in Antala, Turkey in March at the invitation of his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu.

Ahead of the July 1 meeting in Vienna, Rubinyan, Yerevan’s special envoy, said that not much progress had been made. Yet during the meeting Armenia and Turkey agreed to open the border to visitors and advance air cargo trade.

Yerevan has indicated that it wants the border between the two countries to open and diplomatic relations to be established.

In 2018 reports circulated that Pashinyan and Erdogan had held a telephone conversation. However, official Yerevan had denied such reports. Last September, Erdogan claimed that Pashinyan had asked Georgia’s prime minister to mediate a meeting with him.

According to the prime minister’s press service, Pashinyan congratulated Erdogan on Eid al-Adha (Qurban), during the telephone conversation. Reportedly, Edorgan offered his congratulations on the Feast of the Christ’s Transfiguration–Vartavar.