Armenian Side Temporarily Suspends Activity of Armenian-Turkish Business Development Council

The president of the Union of Manufacturers and Businessmen of Armenia, Co-chair of the Armenian-Turkish Business Development Council Arsen Ghazaryan has announced that the Armenian side is temporarily suspending the activity of the Armenian-Turkish Business Development Council. This information was provided to Armenpress by the press service of the Union of Manufacturers and Businessmen of Armenia.

“Since its establishment in 1997, the Armenian-Turkish Business Development Council has aimed to relieve the historically formed tension between the parties through the intensification of economic ties and to create a favorable environment for establishing friendly relations. Businessmen from both sides have made significant efforts towards constructive dialogue and the establishment of economic cooperation; however, they have repeatedly faced various obstacles and unconstructive positions from the Turkish authorities. Moreover, as a gesture of goodwill, since 1993, the Armenian side has unilaterally allowed the entry of Turkish goods into Armenia, receiving a negative reaction from Turkey for this position.

Today, when Turkey's political and military leadership has once again adopted an openly hostile and genocidal policy towards the Armenian people, when it is openly provoking and showing military intervention in the attempts made by Azerbaijan for a force-based solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, supplying it with weapons, military experts, and mercenary terrorists, I hereby announce the temporary suspension of the council’s activities as the Armenian co-chair of the Armenian-Turkish Business Development Council. Simultaneously, I call on Armenian businessmen and relevant state agencies to temporarily suspend the import of all types of Turkish goods into Armenia,” the statement reads.