Turkish authorities are considering launching direct flights to various regions of Armenia in addition to Yerevan, according to the Turkish daily Hüriyyet, which cited closed-door foreign policy discussions held by the Turkish presidential administration.

Turkey and Armenia will begin flying three weekly flights between Yerevan and Istanbul on February 2, according to Turkey's civil aviation authorities.

"As a first step, it was decided to open air communication with Armenia. Next on the agenda will be flights to other regions of the country in addition to capital Yerevan. In particular, the city of Van may turn into a tourist centre for Armenians. In the meantime, some historic buildings, such as the bridge and buildings near the city of Kars, to which Armenians attach great importance, are to be restored. To ease the pressure of the Armenian Diaspora, trade ties will be expanded at the same time," the Turkish newspaper wrote.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan expressed optimism about the chances of establishing diplomatic relations with Turkey at an online news conference on January 24 evening, stating that it would be illogical to pass up the opportunity to communicate with Armenia's neighbour.

'The whole international community is working to normalise Armenian-Turkish relations: Russia, the EU, the United States, and the region's governments are all highly interested," he stated.

The first meeting between the Deputy Speaker of Armenia's National Assembly Ruben Rubinyan, who was appointed as Armenia's special envoy to negotiate normalisation of relations with Turkey, and his Turkish counterpart Serdar Kılıç, which took place on January 14 in Moscow, was described as "positive and held constructive atmosphere" by both the Turkish and Armenian sides.

The envoys are believed to have discussed their early thoughts on the normalisation process between Armenia and Turkey through conversation. The parties decided to continue talks without conditions to achieve full normalcy.