Turkish, Armenian officials hold meeting on transboundary waters

KARS

The Armenian-Turkish commission on transboundary water resources held its first joint meeting to discuss the management of the Arpaçay and Aras rivers, media reported on May 21.

The meeting was held at the Armenia-Türkiye border crossing and later continued at the administrative building of a water management body, affiliated with Armenia’s Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Ministry.

Representatives of the permanent Armenian-Turkish commissions responsible for the operation of the Sardarapat regulator and the Arpaçay reservoir attended the talks.

Water management body director Tigran Vardanyan delivered opening remarks, emphasizing that the signed documents were prepared on mutually beneficial terms.

The two sides reportedly reached several key agreements during the meeting.

The development comes after Ankara announced on May 13 that preparations were completed for the launch of direct trade between Türkiye and Armenia.

Yerevan also stated that direct trade in customs terms would now be possible without the need for re-clearance through third countries.

Türkiye and Armenia have had no diplomatic relations since 1991, while their shared border has remained closed since 1993 following Ankara’s decision amid tensions linked to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and disputes over the 1915 events.

The normalization process gained momentum in late 2021 with the appointment of special envoys Ruben Rubinyan and Serdar Kılıç. Since then, the two countries have taken several steps including allowing direct cargo flights, discussing the opening of the land border to third-country nationals and diplomats, and advancing projects such as the Gyumri-Kars railway line and the restoration of the historic Ani Bridge.