By Bosphorus News Geopolitics Desk
Armenia is considering candidates for a new special representative in normalization talks with Türkiye as Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's government reviews how future contacts with Ankara should be managed once Ruben Rubinyan leaves the role.
Pashinyan said no decision had been made on either the appointment or the format of the talks. The discussion follows the nomination of Rubinyan, Armenia's current special representative, for speaker of the National Assembly in the next legislature.
Rubinyan has said he would leave the normalization post if elected speaker, making the issue one of succession rather than dismissal or a confirmed shift in Armenia's policy toward Türkiye. The timing is significant because the dialogue now covers direct trade procedures, transport links and technical work on the closed land border, leaving any successor with a broader portfolio than the one Rubinyan took over when the process began in 2022.
Pashinyan reviews the talks mechanism
Pashinyan said the government was discussing possible candidates while also examining whether future contacts with Ankara should continue through the existing special representatives mechanism or be organized differently.
His remarks did not indicate that Armenia had decided to abandon the current framework, and no successor has been selected.
Rubinyan and Türkiye's representative, Serdar Kılıç, have led the process for four years, during which the two sides restored direct flights and reached limited confidence-building understandings, while leaving the central questions of diplomatic relations and the land border unresolved.
Rubinyan said in May that the process had reached a point where larger steps were needed. His possible departure would therefore come as both governments face the more difficult task of turning technical agreements into arrangements that businesses, transport operators and travellers can use in practice.
Direct trade preparations completed
Türkiye's Foreign Ministry said in May that bureaucratic preparations for direct trade between the two countries had been completed as of May 11, while technical and administrative work required to open the common border was continuing.
Rubinyan welcomed the trade arrangements, saying they would allow companies to trade directly without redeclaring goods through third countries.
The change does not amount to a reopening of the land border, but it removes an administrative obstacle that had complicated bilateral commerce and gives the normalization process a more concrete economic dimension.
A new Armenian representative would be expected to carry that work forward while continuing negotiations on border access, transport links and the practical implementation of measures already discussed by the two sides.
Border and railway files remain open
The common land border has remained closed for decades despite direct flights and repeated negotiations.
Ankara and Yerevan have pursued normalization through special representatives since 2022, alongside limited confidence-building measures that have advanced some technical files without resolving the main political questions.
Discussions have also expanded to transport infrastructure. A joint working group met in Kars on April 28 to examine the rehabilitation and operational use of the Kars-Gyumri railway, with both sides stressing the importance of bringing the line into service at an early stage.
The railway could support bilateral trade if the border opens, while also improving Armenia's access to regional transport networks through eastern Türkiye.
Rubinyan's successor would therefore inherit responsibility not only for political dialogue, but also for direct trade procedures, railway coordination, border arrangements and the longer-term question of establishing formal diplomatic relations.
Ankara signals continuity
There has been no official indication from Ankara that Rubinyan's expected move to the parliamentary speakership would alter Türkiye's approach.
Kılıç congratulated Rubinyan after the governing Civil Contract party nominated him for speaker, suggesting that Ankara views the possible transition as an institutional change rather than a bilateral dispute.
For both governments, the immediate issue is whether a change of representative can be managed without delaying work already under way. The process has produced several technical understandings, but the land border remains closed, diplomatic relations have not been established and no timetable has been announced for completing the remaining steps.
Pashinyan's remarks do not amount to a new decision on Türkiye. They show that Yerevan is preparing for a likely personnel change as the normalization process becomes more closely tied to trade, transport and border implementation.
Sources: Armenpress, Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Bosphorus News review.