Opening border gate with Türkiye will be game changer: Yerevan

Serkan Demirtaş- YEREVAN

The opening of the Margara-Alican border gate with Türkiye will be a game changer and boost regional peace and stability, senior Armenian officials have said, reiterating their expectations from Ankara to implement the 2022-dated agreement for allowing the passage of the third country nationals from the border.

“The opening of the Margara checkpoint will be a game changer and constitute a very important confidence building measure between the two countries. Unfortunately, Türkiye has not yet implemented the agreement we reached in 2022,” a senior Armenian official told the Hürriyet Daily News in Yerevan last week.

The official referred to a deal the two countries had reached in 2022 for the opening of the land border for citizens of third countries and diplomatic passport holders as part of a normalization process between Türkiye and Armenia that was launched in 2021.

Armenia spent around $2.5 million to renovate the checkpoint, the official said, also recalling that Armenian border guards fully replaced the Russian guards as of March 1.

Armenian authorities explained the level of readiness on their side to let the checkpoint start its operations during a press tour organized for the Turkish journalists on March 12. It was observed that Armenian authorities have fully completed the renovation works in the

administrative buildings and the areas where the services will be provided for the passengers.

“We are ready and wait Türkiye’s move to let the crossing operates,” the official said.

Ankara is not against opening the border but obviously waiting for how talks between Yerevan and Baku will develop in terms of signing a permanent peace deal. Ankara welcomes the progress made between the two countries to this end.

The crossing in Margara is just a one-hour drive from Yerevan and officials believe it will speedily turn into an important transportation line between the two countries and beyond once it starts to operate fully.

Opening the borders between Türkiye and Armenia will not only have an impact on the two economies but also on surrounding regions, another official said. Recalling that Türkiye is enjoying the customs union with the European Union and Armenia is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, the official stressed that creating a direct link between two neighboring countries will eventually connect the European and Eurasian economic entities.

“In addition, the opening of the border gate will allow Armenia to have access to Mersin port of Türkiye from where it can export its goods,” recalled the official.

Landlocked Armenia is also proposing a substantial regional connectivity project, dubbed the Crossroads of Peace, to ensure communication between Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye. It consists of establishing checkpoints between these countries and restoring existing land and railways, including the Kars-Gümrü railway.

Türkiye and Armenia have no diplomatic ties and borders have been sealed since 1993 due to the latter’s occupation of Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh province. The situation in the region entirely changed after Azerbaijan regained control of its lands following the war with Armenia. In the post-war era, Armenia is separately conducting talks for peace with both Azerbaijan and Türkiye.

Türkiye frequently expresses its hope for regional peace and stability, while openly acknowledging the progress made with Armenia.