Closing after 30 years
Armenia and Turkey want to reopen borders permanently
03/24/2023, 7:42 p.m
After 30 years, Armenia and Turkey want to reopen their borders permanently for the first time. At that time, the Turkish government closed the national border out of solidarity with its sister state, Azerbaijan. However, the reopening does not apply to everyone for the time being.
According to information from Yerevan, Armenia and Turkey want to open their borders again permanently for the first time in 30 years – but initially only for third-country nationals and diplomats. Despite their conflict, Yerevan and Ankara agreed to allow border traffic by land again until the start of the tourism season, according to Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirsoyan.
There is already air traffic between Armenia and Turkey. Turkey first opened the border in February when Armenia sent humanitarian aid transports and workers following the earthquake in the country. Turkey unilaterally closed the land border in 1993 out of solidarity with its sister state, Azerbaijan. This meant serious economic problems for Armenia, which is still fighting a bloody conflict with Azerbaijan over the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Armenian Genocide
The relationship between Ankara and Yerevan is heavily strained. However, the two neighbors have maintained diplomatic contacts again since the end of 2021. Relations between the two countries are also strained because of the massacre of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire more than 100 years ago.
Between 1915 and 1916, soldiers of the Ottoman Empire deliberately murdered thousands of Armenians through massacres and death marches. This genocide is now recognized as such by most historians worldwide. Germany also classified the crimes as genocide. In France, denial is punishable by law.