Türkiye and Armenia have reached an agreement to simplify visa procedures for holders of diplomatic, service and special passports, the Turkish Foreign Ministry announced on Monday.
Starting this Thursday, Jan. 1, holders of diplomatic, service, and special passports from both countries will be eligible to obtain free e-visas, the ministry said in a statement.
It added that on this occasion, Ankara and Yerevan also reaffirm their commitment to continuing the normalization process between the two countries unconditionally, with the goal of full normalization.
This year, Türkiye and Armenia have expressed their determination to pursue normalization of ties without preconditions and agreed to speed up the process to open border crossings between the two neighbors.
The two countries share a complex history. Armenia, for a long time, has accused Türkiye, or rather, the Ottoman Empire, of committing "genocide" against the Armenian population in the country during World War I. Türkiye has repeatedly denied the claims, although it has acknowledged a high number of deaths among Armenians due to isolated incidents and diseases.
Borders have remained closed since 1993 following Armenia’s illegal occupation of the Azerbaijani territory of Karabakh. Relations began to thaw after the 2020 Karabakh war, with both sides appointing special envoys to pursue normalization talks and negotiating the reopening of their land border. So far, limited agreements have allowed third-country citizens and diplomats to cross, but a full reopening remains elusive.
Despite the hurdles, there have been tentative gestures toward cooperation. The Margara border crossing has been used twice in recent years for humanitarian purposes: in February 2023 to deliver Armenian aid trucks following a devastating earthquake in southeastern Türkiye, and in March 2024 for humanitarian aid shipments to Syria via Türkiye. Armenia has also upgraded the crossing in anticipation of future use.
