Türkiye and Armenia reiterated their determination to pursue normalization of ties without preconditions and agreed to speed up the process to open border crossings between the two neighbors, as special representatives for the normalization process as they met for the sixth round of talks on Friday.
During the meeting in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, Türkiye's special envoy Serdar Kılıç and his Armenian counterpart Ruben Rubinyan confirmed the issues agreed upon in their previous discussions, which aimed to advance the full normalization process between the two countries.
They exchanged views on the implementation of the agreement on border crossings, which was reached at a meeting in July 2022.
They also decided that the relevant authorities in both countries would carry out the necessary technical work for the rehabilitation and reactivation of the Kars-Gyumri railway and the electricity interconnector.
They further agreed to strengthen cooperation in the fields of culture and academia, in particular by creating scholarship opportunities for higher education students and through joint restoration of the historic Silk Road (Ani) Bridge.
Additionally, Kılıç and Rubinyan reached an understanding to undertake the necessary work to enable other interested airlines to launch flights to various destinations starting next summer, thereby increasing air travel and the number of flights between the neighboring countries.
Türkiye and Armenia have held five rounds of normalization talks in recent years, seeking to restore diplomatic ties and reopen borders closed since the early 1990s.
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.
