Armenia, Turkey close to opening border - Armenian FM

YEREVAN. May 6 (Interfax) - Dialogue between Armenia and Turkey has reached a level allowing them to open the border between the two countries, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said.

"We have excellent dialogue with Turkey. Armenia-Turkey dialogue has reached a sufficient level for positive results," Mirzoyan said at the Yerevan Dialogue forum on Wednesday.

At the European Political Community summit in Yerevan on May 5, representatives of Armenia and Turkey signed a memorandum on the joint restoration of the historic Ani Bridge on the border between the two countries, and a working group on resuming railway service between Armenia and Turkey along the Gyumri-Kars route recently met for the third time, Mirzoyan said.

"We have expressed mutual readiness to establish diplomatic relations, and we have expressed our mutual interest and willingness to fully open the border," Mirzoyan said, adding that this would happen because dialogue between the two countries has reached a high enough level.

He also said that, even though Armenia and Azerbaijan have not yet signed a peace agreement, peace has effectively been established between them.

"We already have real peace. We do not have unfortunate incidents on the border with Azerbaijan, and for more than a year, there have been no casualties caused by shootings at the border. Azerbaijan has lifted restrictions on the transit of goods to Armenia through its territory. This is already a major step toward peace. We have also started bilateral trade with Azerbaijan, we are purchasing petroleum products from Azerbaijan, and we will also sell certain goods to Azerbaijani companies. This is truly proof of peace," he said.

Armenia and Turkey have no diplomatic relations, and their joint border has been closed since 1993 at Ankara's initiative over the Karabakh conflict.

Since 2022, Yerevan and Ankara have been holding negotiations at the level of special representatives to open the border for citizens of third countries and to normalize bilateral relations. The first meeting between the special representatives took place in Moscow on January 14, 2022.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz met in Yerevan on May 4 to discuss the normalization process, where the parties signed a protocol on the joint restoration of the historic Ani Bridge (Silk Road) on the border between Armenia and Turkey.