Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in an interview with the Global Times. File photo: Li Hao/GT

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu met his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan on Saturday in Antalya, a southwestern resort city of Turkey, to discuss ways of ending decades-old hostilities.

The two ministers attended a joint press conference after they met on the sidelines of the ongoing Antalya Diplomacy Forum, which has gathered around 2,000 politicians, diplomats, journalists, and scholars from more than 70 countries since its opening on Friday.

The Turkish minister told the press that said his meeting with Mirzoyan was "very productive and constructive," noting special representatives of the two neighbors have conducted two rounds of talks trying to normalize their ties.

Turkey strives for stability and peace in the South Caucasus, said Cavusoglu, adding "Azerbaijan also supports this process."

"Stability and peace in the region are for the benefit of all of us," he noted.

Mirzoyan, for his part, said the Armenian side will continue to normalize ties with Turkey "without preconditions."

"Armenia has a decision for peace and harmony in our region," the Armenian minister said.

Turkey and Armenia severed the diplomatic ties in 1993 after Turkey chose to support Azerbaijan when the Caspian country was fighting a war with Armenia over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Xinhua