What historical progress are the US and the EU making?

Recently, a meeting of the Armenia-Turkey joint working group took place in Kars. According to the statement of the RA Foreign Ministry, in accordance with the agreements reached within the framework of the regulation of Armenia-Turkey relations, on April 28, a meeting of the Armenia-Turkey joint working group for the restoration and operation of the Gyumri-Kars railway was held in Kars.

“In the context of the expansion of transport communications in the region, the parties emphasized the importance of the early launch of the Gyumri-Kars railway,” the message stated.

It is noteworthy that the event was welcomed by Armenia’s western partners, the USA and the EU, describing it as a significant, historical event. The US Embassy in Armenia issued a statement and welcomed the taking of these concrete steps in the direction of reopening economic and social ties between Armenia and Turkey, which had been closed for decades.

“Historical progress on the way to building a peaceful and prosperous South Caucasus.

A meeting of Armenian and Turkish officials took place in Kars to form a joint working group on the reconstruction of the Kars-Gyumri railway. The restoration of this key link between Armenia and Turkey is an important step in opening regional channels and ensuring regional stability.

Grounds for such turning developments were prepared at the Washington summit hosted by President Trump on August 8.

The US Embassy in Armenia welcomes the taking of these concrete steps in the direction of reopening economic and social ties between Armenia and Turkey, which have been closed for decades,” the message said.

The EU also welcomed the April 28 meeting of the Armenia-Turkey bilateral working group in Kars, which, according to official reports, aimed to promote the restoration of railway connections between the two countries.

“The stable progress of the Armenia-Turkey relations normalization process reflects the broader positive dynamics emerging in the region, which is important for long-term peace and stability. The EU encourages the full normalization of relations between the two countries.

Once operational, the Kars-Gyumri railway connection will strengthen regional communication and provide concrete benefits for the entire population of the South Caucasus. The EU is committed to developing communications in the South Caucasus in line with our interregional connectivity agenda, the Global Gateway strategy and the Trans-Caspian transport corridor, where Armenia and Turkey both play an important role,” the EU statement said.

Russian Turkologist Viktor Nadein-Raevsky 168.amsaid that judging by the fact of the meeting and the limited information spread, no historical progress was registered during that meeting. “It is not clear what the parties agreed on,” he said.

And if progress was registered, then, according to him, there should have been some information about it included in the message.

“All this at this stage looks like a process with mostly artificially inflated results. The opening of the border or the restoration of diplomatic relations would be a historic event, but the meeting of the working groups is like a meeting of special representatives, moreover, it is unclear what issues were discussed, what progress is being made and what will follow this process. It is also not known what is the progress of the agreements reached during the meetings of the special representatives. There are meetings, but there is no real progress, implementation of agreements, because Armenia and Azerbaijan have not yet signed a document by which and the real Armenian-Turkish progress is determined,” Victor Nadein-Raevsky said.

According to him, the parties interested in the process are trying to give the impression that it is moving forward with great pace and results.

“And why are they doing this, because they cannot provide real results, as a player, and they want to show results, so that there is an impression that peace in the region is being strengthened, peaceful processes are unfolding,” the analyst said.

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