Türkiye, Armenia agree to work on opening sealed railroad

ANKARA

Türkiye and Armenia have agreed to work toward opening a railroad that links the two neighboring countries in line with the regional developments, continuing the normalization process.

The two countries’ special envoys Ambassador Serdar Kılıç and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia Ruben Rubinyan held their fifth meeting on the Alican-Margara crossing on the border of the two countries on July 30, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a written statement.

It was the first time that the envoys met at a border crossing. The ministry said the envoys reconfirmed the agreements reached at their previous meetings.

“Furthermore, they agreed to assess the technical requirements to enable functioning of Akyaka/Akhurik railroad border gate in line with the regional developments as well as to simplify their mutual visa procedures for diplomatic/official passport holders,” it informed.

“Finally, they reemphasized their agreement to continue the normalization process without any preconditions towards achieving the ultimate goal of full normalization between their respective countries,” the ministry added.

Türkiye and Armenia appointed the special envoys for the normalization of their relationship and instate diplomatic ties in 2021.

The move came after Azerbaijan’s liberation of its territories in Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenia’s occupation in late 2020. Türkiye is expecting Armenia and Azerbaijan to sign a permanent peace treaty.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called on Armenia to not to miss the opportunity of launching a new era of cooperation and prosperity in the region and sign a treaty with Azerbaijan. Baku and Yerevan held a number of meetings for the finalization of a peace treaty but they are not yet ready to sign it.