Erdogan, Pashinyan Shake Hands in Prague Ahead of First Face-to-Face Talks

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan shook hands firmly on the sidelines of a summit in Prague on Thursday, a couple of hours ahead of their first face-to-face bilateral talks, according to a video footage released by the TRT Haber broadcaster.

Erdogan and Pashinyan smiled at each other and looked positive, according to the footage.

The first official meeting between Erdogan and Pashinyan is scheduled for 16:00 GMT, during which the parties intend to discuss the resumed process of normalizing relations between Turkey and Armenia.

Earlier in the day, a conversation between Erdogan, Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev took place on the sidelines of the European Political Community summit, which was the first meeting in this format. The topic of the conversation was not disclosed.

Turkey and Armenia do not have official diplomatic relations. The border between the two countries has been closed at Ankara's initiative since 1993. Tensions between the nations arose over a range of issues, including Turkey's support for Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and its opposition to the process of international recognition of the 1915 Armenian genocide by the Ottoman Empire.