Reports of Macron being blocked at Turkish-Armenia border ‘inaccurate,’ Türkiye says

Türkiye on Thursday denied reports that French President Emmanuel Macron requested permission to cross the Turkish-Armenian land border following his visit to Yerevan

The Foreign Ministry source called the claims false and warned against attempts to turn the Türkiye-Armenia normalization process into a domestic political tool for any country.

A senior Turkish Foreign Ministry official, responding to questions from Türkiye’s Anka News Agency, said the reports were inaccurate.

“When the border opens, Türkiye decides who crosses and who does not. We do not want to waste time with such polemics. We do not want the Türkiye-Armenia normalization process to be turned into a discussion to be exploited for any country’s domestic politics,” the official said.

The denial followed a report by Visegrád 24 claiming that “Macron had planned to enter Türkiye by land from Armenia across the long-closed border, that Ankara had initially given the green light before President Erdogan categorically rejected the request, and that the crossing, had it been allowed, would have been an unprecedented symbolic opening facilitated by a third party.”

Macron calls for all regional borders to open

The episode, disputed or otherwise, comes after Macron made an explicit call in Yerevan for the opening of all regional borders, including those between Armenia, Azerbaijan and Türkiye.

“Borders must open, all borders, and they must open fully. This is what will unlock full economic opportunity and allow for routes of peace rather than imperial conflicts in the South Caucasus,” Macron said at the Yerevan Dialogue forum.

He also framed the South Caucasus as a potential connectivity hub between Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East and called Armenia’s turn toward Europe “courageous and necessary.”

He said the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war had exposed the unreliability of Russian security guarantees. “I know that for a long time, many believed Armenia’s destiny could only lie under the so-called protective wing of Russia. But the 2020 war showed that this protection was not as reliable as many thought,” he said.

France’s President Emmanuel Macron speaks on stage during the Yerevan Dialogue 2026 forum in Yerevan on May 5, 2026. (AFP Photo)

Armenia-France strategic partnership deal signed

Separately, Armenia and France signed a joint declaration establishing a strategic partnership during Macron’s state visit to Yerevan, with Macron and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signing the agreement ahead of a press conference.

Armenia also signed a similar joint declaration with the United Kingdom during a meeting between Pashinyan and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on the sidelines of the 8th European Political Community summit.

Macron additionally called for a ceasefire in the Middle East, a return to diplomatic negotiations on Iran and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz “with free circulation for all container ships and tankers.”

French President Emmanuel Macron said he expressed “deep concern” about the escalation in the region when he held talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

“All parties must lift the blockade of the Strait immediately and unconditionally,” Macron wrote on X.