OREANDA-NEWS. Ankara is considering the applications of Turkish and Armenian airlines for Istanbul-Yerevan-Istanbul flights and a decision can be made in the coming days, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said.

"The airlines' applications are being considered by the Turkish Ministry of Transport and the General Directorate of Civil Aviation. In principle, the attitude of the Turkish side to the issue is positive. In the coming days it will be decided which companies will be able to fly on this route,"- Cavusoglu told reporters during a visit to the UAE. He was quoted by Anadolu news agency as saying.

Earlier, Cavusoglu said the sides will soon appoint special envoys to normalize relations with Armenia. Charter flights to Yerevan will also be opened. The Armenian Foreign Ministry welcomed the Turkish foreign minister's statement on the appointment of a special representative to normalise relations and confirmed that the Armenian side would also appoint a special representative for dialogue.

There are no diplomatic relations between Turkey and Armenia and the border between the two countries has been closed since 1993 at Ankara's initiative. The difficult relations between the countries are caused by a number of circumstances, including Ankara's support for the Azerbaijani position on the Karabakh issue and Turkey's acute reaction to the process of international recognition of the 1915 Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire.