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“Turkey has always cited the so-called occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) as an excuse to keep the border closed. I believe it’s what the foreign minister meant," pro-government lawmaker Hovhannes Igityan told reporters at the National Assembly on Thursday, commenting on Armenian Foreign Minister Ara Aivazian’s statement said Turkey has no reason to keep its border with Armenia closed any longer since the status quo in Karabakh has changed as a result of the use of force.

According to the My Step MP, however, the closure of the Armenian-Turkish border is not linked exclusively with the Artsakh war and relations between Armenia and Turkey are “far from being friendly.”

"It will take a long time; there must be changes in Turkey so that we can treat it simply as a country. There is no appropriate atmosphere in Turkey today, as the statements made there are quite disturbing, I would say racist. As for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, it is a fact that has been acknowledged by many countries. We do not ask Turkey to recognize the Genocide, when the country comes to the realization and faces great pressure, Turkey will recognize it," Igityan noted.