The special envoys for the Turkey-Armenia normalization process, held their fifth meeting at the Alican-Margara border gate today.
Before the meeting, the representatives toured the newly renovated border gate, according to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency (AA).
During the meeting, Ambassador Serdar Kılıç of Turkey and Ruben Rubinyan of Armenia reaffirmed their commitment to the agreements reached in earlier talks. They also discussed the potential reactivation of the Akyaka/Akhurik railway border crossing, considering regional developments and assessing the technical requirements for its operation.
Additionally, the representatives agreed on facilitating visa procedures for holders of diplomatic and official passports, aiming to ease travel restrictions and promote diplomatic engagement.
Both sides reiterated their dedication to continuing the normalization process without any preconditions, with the ultimate goal of achieving full normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia.
Background
Following positive signals from Ankara and Yerevan in 2022, special envoys were appointed to initiate normalization talks between Turkey and Armenia. Former Turkish Ambassador to Washington, Serdar Kılıç, was appointed as Turkey's special envoy, while Ruben Rubinyan, Deputy Speaker of the Armenian Parliament, was appointed as Armenia's representative in the dialogue process.
Kılıç and Rubinyan held their first meeting on January 14, 2022, in Moscow, Russia. During this meeting, they agreed to pursue negotiations aimed at the full normalization of relations between the two countries without any preconditions.
On February 2, 2022, direct flights between İstanbul and Yerevan resumed.
The second meeting between Kılıç and Rubinyan took place on February 24, 2022, in Vienna, Austria. In March 2022, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan attended the Antalya Diplomacy Forum. On March 12, Mirzoyan and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu met in Antalya. This was the first meeting at the level of foreign ministers between Turkey and Armenia in nearly nine years.
On July 1, 2022, the Turkey-Armenia border was opened to third-country nationals, and the two countries decided to commence air cargo trade.
Following the February 6, 2023, earthquakes in Turkey, the border remained open temporarily to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the affected regions.
(TY/VK)
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