All news

Armenia, Turkey agree on land border crossing by third country nationals

Apart from that, the sides discussed other steps that can be taken to normalize bilateral relations

YEREVAN, July 1. /TASS/. Turkish and Armenian special envoys working on the normalization of relations between the two countries, Serdar Kilic and Ruben Rubinyan, have struck an agreement on crossing the Armenian-Turkish land border by citizens of third countries, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

"The sides agreed to swiftly ensure the possibility of crossing the Armenian-Turkish land border for citizens of third countries visiting Armenia and Turkey, and decided to launch the necessary processes in this area," it said. "An agreement was reached to organize the direct airlifting of cargoes between Armenia and Turkey and it was decided to begin the necessary processes for that."

Apart from that, the sides discussed other steps that can be taken to normalize bilateral relations. The special envoys reiterated Armenia’s and Turkey’s commitment to normalization without preliminary conditions.

Armenia and Turkey have a common border but have no diplomatic relations. The two countries’ top diplomats inked protocols on establishing diplomatic ties and principles of relations in Zurich in 2009. The documents however have not been ratified by both parties. Moreover, Armenia announced the annulment of the protocols on March 1, 2018. In 2021, the two countries appointed special envoys for the normalization of relations, who have already had two meetings: on January 14 in Moscow and on February 24 in Vienna.