On July 30, the fifth meeting of the special representatives of Armenia and Turkey was held as part of the process of normalizing relations between the two countries. The meeting took place at the Margara-Alican border crossing.
The Armenian side was represented by the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Ruben Rubinyan, while the Turkish side was represented by Ambassador Serdar Kılıç. According to the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, both sides reaffirmed the agreements reached during previous meetings.
A key outcome of the negotiations was the decision to assess the technical requirements for opening the Akhuryk/Akyaka railway border checkpoint. Additionally, the parties agreed to mutually ease visa procedures for holders of diplomatic and official passports.
Rubinyan and Kılıç emphasized that the process of normalizing relations will continue without any preconditions.
The process of normalizing Armenian-Turkish relations began at the start of 2022. The first meeting of the special representatives of Armenia and Turkey took place on January 14 in Moscow. Subsequently, the envoys held three more meetings in Vienna.
On July 1, 2022, in Vienna, Rubinyan and Kılıç agreed to facilitate the crossing of the Armenian-Turkish land border as soon as possible for third-country nationals and holders of diplomatic passports. However, these agreements have not yet been implemented.
Despite the closed border and the absence of diplomatic relations, trade between the two countries has almost never ceased in the post-Soviet period. According to the Statistical Committee of Armenia, in January-May of this year, the trade turnover between Armenia and Turkey amounted to over $131 million. Of this amount, only $225,000 accounted for Armenian exports to Turkey, while the rest represented imports of Turkish goods to Armenia.
The trade figures for the five months are only $2 million higher than the same period in 2023.
