Istanbul, June 20 -- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is set to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday in a rare visit intended to advance the normalisation of ties between the two nations, whose relationship has long been marred by historic grievances and Turkey's close alliance with Azerbaijan.

The two countries, which currently lack formal diplomatic relations, are expected to focus their discussions on potentially reopening their shared border and the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran, according to AP.

Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 as a show of solidarity with Azerbaijan, which was then engaged in a conflict with Armenia over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. In 2020, Turkey lent stro...