Türkiye-Armenia crossing opened for first time in 35 years

KAHRAMANMARAŞ

A border crossing between Türkiye and Armenia opened for the first time in 35 years on Feb. 11 to allow humanitarian aid through after the massive earthquakes hit the region, an official said.

Five trucks with aid including food and water arrived in Türkiye from the Alican border crossing, tweeted Serdar Kılıç, Türkiye’s special envoy for dialogue with Armenia.

The assistance comes after 7.7 and 7.6 magnitudes earthquakes rocked Türkiye and Syria on Feb.6, killing nearly 28,000 people in both countries, and injuring tens of thousands more.

This was the first time the crossing had opened since 1988, when Türkiye sent aid to Armenia after the country was hit by an earthquake that killed between 25,000 to 30,000.

Kılıç in his tweet thanked Armenia and the Armenian national assembly’s vice president Ruben Rubinyan. The aid also included medicine, he said.

“Happy to have been able to assist,” Rubinyan said on Twitter.

The two countries have never established formal diplomatic relations and their shared border has been closed since the 1990s.