Turkish Minister Links Armenia Border Opening To Peace Deal Between Yerevan, B

He thus reiterated Ankara’s longstanding position that the normalization of relations with Yerevan is contingent on an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace deal.

“We expect Armenia and Azerbaijan to reach a full agreement. This is important to us,” Uraloglu said on the sidelines of the United Nations climate conference, COP31, in Antalya, Turkey.

“I’ve held talks with my Armenian counterpart. We have completed the necessary preparatory work for reopening both the railway crossing [between Kars and Gyumri] and the land border crossing at Alican.”

“In case of an agreement taking into account Azerbaijan’s sensitivities, we believe that the border will not take long to open once that agreement is reached,” Uraloglu said.

Armenia and Turkey embarked on a new phase of efforts to normalize their relations and open the border that has remained closed for more than three decades following the 2020 Armenian-Azerbaijani war in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The two countries agreed in 2022 to open their land border to citizens of third countries, but Turkey has not yet implemented that arrangement.

Ankara has consistently linked the opening of the border to progress in Armenian-Azerbaijani relations. Armenia and Azerbaijan initialed a peace agreement last year but have yet to sign it. Azerbaijan, in particular, insists that Armenia remove a clause from its current constitution that Baku views as containing territorial claims.

Despite the absence of a final agreement with Turkey on reopening the border, Armenian officials have described the dialogue with Ankara as constructive.

On November 11, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian is due to attend the COP31 Leaders’ Summit in Antalya, which will be chaired by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Two years ago, Armenia renovated the Margara border crossing, located opposite Turkey’s Alican checkpoint, expressing a hope that Turkey would open the border soon.

Last summer, Armenia’s Ministry of Territorial Administration announced a tender for design work related to the construction of the Gyumri-Kars railway. The results of the tender have not yet been announced.

In October, Armenian and Turkish officials also discussed in Yerevan work on restoring the Gyumri-Kars power transmission line.

In July, the mayor of Akyaka, a Turkish town in Kars Province bordering Armenia’s Shirak region, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that efforts were underway to restore the infrastructure of the Akyaka-Gyumri railway. He said the work was expected to be completed within two to three months.

The mayor also said a tender had been announced for the construction of a road connecting Akyaka with Gyumri.