Ruben Rubinyan, the Armenian Parliament’s vice speaker and the country’s special representative for normalization of ties with Türkiye, recently said the two countries are no longer in "railway deadlock,” referring to the revival of the Akhalkalaki-Kars railway.

Rubinyan was quoted by the Armenian media as saying that the normalization process has seen multiple developments recently, including direct trade between the countries and the opportunity to use the said railway. He stated that the end of the deadlock meant that they can extend beyond Georgia for exports.

Referring to the working group established for the reopening of the Gyumri-Kars railway, Rubinyan said, "We hope this railway will become operational as soon as possible, and we also expect the commitments that have been made to be fulfilled.”

During the tenure of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the two countries took significant steps for normalization.

In 2021, Türkiye’s former ambassador to Washington, Serdar Kılıç, was appointed as Türkiye’s special representative, while Rubinyan was appointed as Armenia’s counterpart.

Kılıç and Rubinyan met in Moscow in January 2022. Türkiye and Armenia agreed to continue negotiations aimed at the full normalization of relations without preconditions. This process was welcomed positively by the international community.

Flights between Armenia and Türkiye, which had ended in 2020, resumed on Feb. 2, 2022. An aircraft departing from Sabiha Gökçen International Airport in Istanbul landed at Zvartnots International Airport in Yerevan.

As of Jan. 1, 2023, direct air cargo trade between Türkiye and Armenia became possible.

Restrictions preventing users in Türkiye from accessing websites in Armenia were also removed, with the exception of websites belonging to Armenia’s official institutions.

While negotiations continued, both sides continued to send positive messages regarding the process. In 2024, Armenia announced that the Armenian side of the Alican Border Gate (the Margara Border Crossing) on the Turkish border had been completely renovated and made ready for service.

Under a decision taken by the two sides at the end of 2025, holders of diplomatic, service and special passports from Türkiye and Armenia became eligible to obtain free e-visas as of Jan. 1, 2026, providing greater visa facilitation.

Following talks on May 4 between Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz and Pashinyan, a memorandum of understanding was signed regarding the joint restoration of the Ani Bridge, with one end in Türkiye and the other in Armenia.

It was stated that, as of May 11, the bureaucratic preparations necessary to launch direct trade between Türkiye and Armenia had been completed, while the required technical and administrative work for opening the shared border between the two countries was continuing.

Thanks to a new regulation, goods traveling from Türkiye to Armenia via a third country or arriving from Armenia via the same route could now list "Armenia/Türkiye” as their final destination or point of origin.

In a statement made in May, Pashinyan announced that "just as the Azerbaijani railway has been opened, the Akhalkalaki-Kars railway has also been opened to Armenia’s exports and imports.”