Türkiye to launch direct trade with Armenia

ANKARA

Türkiye has completed all necessary bureaucratic preparations for launching direct trade with Armenia as part of the ongoing normalization process between the two neighboring countries, a spokesman for the Turkish Foreign Ministry has announced.

Öncü Keçeli announced the development in a written statement on May 13.

Recalling that Türkiye and Armenia have been conducting a normalization process since 2022 and implementing a number of confidence building measures, Keçeli informed that bureaucratic procedures have been completed for launching direct trade.

Under the new regulations, goods transported from Türkiye to Armenia via third countries may now list Armenia or Türkiye as the final destination or country of origin, read the statement.

“Necessary technical and bureaucratic works are still ongoing regarding the opening of the border gate between the two countries,” Keçeli said, referring to the Alican/Margara crossing. The two countries agreed to open the sealed crossing for the citizens of the third countries and holders of diplomatic passports.

“In light of the historic opportunity to strengthen lasting peace and prosperity in the South Caucasus, Türkiye will continue to contribute to the development of economic relations and further advancement of cooperation in the region for the benefit of all countries and peoples of the region,” Keçeli said.

Armenia welcomes the move

Following the Turkish move, Armenia has welcomed the development “an important step toward the development of full and normal relations between the two countries.”

“We welcome Türkiye’s decision to lift restrictions on bilateral trade with the Republic of Armenia, which is another outcome of the Armenia–Türkiye normalization process. This decision is significant for expanding trade and business ties between the two countries, promoting economic connectivity in the region and ensuring peace and prosperity,” Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ani Badalyan said in a written statement on May 13.

“We emphasize that this is an important step toward the development of full and normal relations between the two countries, which can be logically followed by the opening of the Armenia–Türkiye border and the establishment of diplomatic relations.”

The move came after a meeting between the two sides’ special representatives, Serdar Kılıç and Ruben Rubenyan last week. Türkiye’s Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz attended the European Political Community meeting in Yerevan last week where he met Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.