Turkey Tightens Preconditions on Armenia

(Horizon Weekly) – Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stated this week that Ankara will only advance normalization with Armenia once a final peace treaty is signed between Armenia and Azerbaijan. His comments add yet another layer of preconditions on Yerevan and further align Turkey with the demands coming from Baku.

Fidan argued that normalizing relations now would remove Armenia’s incentive to conclude the treaty and might leave the region with what he called a frozen conflict. He also made clear that the reopening of the Turkey-Armenia border will remain blocked until the treaty is finalized.

Although the treaty was initialled in August during US-mediated talks, Azerbaijan continues to push new requirements on Armenia, ranging from constitutional changes to demands for a land passage across Armenia linking Azerbaijan to Nakhichevan. Crucially, both Baku and Ankara continue to insist on referring to this proposed passage as a “corridor,” a term that carries extraterritorial implications and violates Armenia’s sovereignty. Turkey’s continued use of the corridor narrative demonstrates that its approach remains rooted in strategic pressure rather than genuine regional peacebuilding.

Turkey has also failed to implement earlier agreed steps, such as opening the border for third-country nationals, yet continues to reinforce Azerbaijani talking points while placing additional conditions on Armenia. This dynamic reveals a deeply imbalanced process in which Ankara and Baku dictate the terms while offering no reciprocal measures.

Fidan’s remarks, therefore, highlight the broader reality that the current process is more political cover than a real peace negotiation. By tying normalization to a treaty shaped almost entirely by Azerbaijani demands and by legitimizing the corridor concept, Turkey makes clear that it is not acting as an impartial stakeholder but as an enforcer of Baku’s agenda.

For Armenia, these developments raise serious questions about whether the ongoing talks can produce a fair and durable settlement or whether the process is being used to pressure Yerevan into further unilateral concessions under the label of normalization.