Turkey and Armenia to open border for third-country nationals

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has said in a statement that Ankara and Yerevan agreed to allow third-country citizens to cross their shared border at the earliest date possible. The statement also said that the neighbors will start direct air cargo trade between each other.

Saturday July 02 2022 02:29 pm

Duvar English - Anadolu Agency

Turkish and Armenian officials have agreed to open the land border for third-country citizens visiting both countries "at the earliest date possible", the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on July 1.

The mutual border has been closed since 1993, when Azerbaijan and Armenia clashed following the fall of the Soviet Union.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry also said in a written statement that the two countries, whose relations have been strained for decades, had agreed to begin direct cargo flights in both directions.

The Turkish and Armenian officials also “discussed other possible concrete steps that can be undertaken towards achieving the ultimate goal of full normalization between their respective countries,” the ministry said.

“Finally they reemphasized their agreement to continue the normalization process without preconditions,” the statement added.

The statement came after the neighbours held a fourth round of talks in Vienna on July 1. Turkey has been working to normalize relations with Armenia in coordination with Azerbaijan since December.

The first round of normalization talks was held in Moscow on Jan. 14. Turkish and Armenian envoys met for the second time in Vienna on Feb. 24, and the third meeting was held on May 3 in the Austrian capital.

Also, a historic bilateral meeting took place between the foreign ministers of Turkey and Armenia on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum on March 12.

As part of the efforts, Turkey and Armenia have also resumed commercial flights as of Feb. 2 after a two-year hiatus.

Topics Turkey Armenia