Cavusoglu on Opening of Armenian-Turkish Border

There is no scheduled opening for the Armenian Embassy in Turkey in the near future; however, the countries are working towards the opening of border crossings. This was announced by Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu during a broadcast on A Haber television on Monday.

“In the near future, the opening of the Armenian Embassy may not take place, as other steps must first be taken. We have opened our airspace for Armenia, cargo transportation is underway, and mutual air communication has begun. Armenian air carriers can fly through our territory to third countries. But to open land crossings, alongside political conditions, we first need to prepare roads and restore bridges. We already have agreements on bridge construction,” he stated.

Cavusoglu clarified that the opening of the land border is expected to be carried out “for holders of diplomatic passports or ordinary citizens of third countries.” He noted that there is a “historic 900-year-old bridge on the Silk Road in the border region with Armenia that needs to be restored and strengthened to ensure transit.” At the same time, the Turkish Foreign Minister emphasized that every step towards normalizing relations with Armenia is taken “after consultations with Azerbaijan.”

Cavusoglu added that as part of efforts to achieve a permanent peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Turkey supports the parties and also encourages and assists in the implementation of infrastructure and logistics projects in the region.

On April 6, the Armenian State Revenue Committee announced that it had begun preparatory work for the possible opening of the Margara crossing point on the border with Turkey, which is intended for citizens of third countries.