Türkiye has completed formal preparations to begin direct commercial activity with Armenia, a Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Wednesday, marking another step in the slow but steady normalisation of ties between the two neighbours.
Preparations to begin direct bilateral trade were finalised on Monday, 11 May, according to Oncu Keçeli, spokesman for the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
He added, however, that technical and bureaucratic procedures aimed at reopening the two countries’ shared border, which has been closed since the 1990s, were still under way.
According to a ministry statement, the new arrangement means that goods exported from Türkiye to Armenia via third countries, or vice versa, can list their final destination or country of origin as either “Turkey” or “Armenia”.
In a further sign of warming bilateral ties, Ankara also lifted several customs restrictions previously imposed on Armenia on Wednesday.
Ani Badalyan, spokeswoman for the Armenian Foreign Ministry, welcomed the developments.
“This decision is significant for expanding trade and business ties between the two countries, promoting economic connectivity in the region, and ensuring peace and prosperity,” she said in remarks to Armenia’s state press.
The measures mark the latest steps in the Türkiye-Armenia normalisation process, which has been gaining momentum, slowly but steadily, since 2022.
Although Türkiye recognised Armenia following its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the two countries have never established formal diplomatic relations.
In 1993, Türkiye unilaterally closed its border with Armenia during the First Karabakh War between Armenia and Azerbaijan, in which Türkiye supported Azerbaijan.
Following the Second Karabakh War in 2020, Ankara and Yerevan began taking steps to normalise relations after decades of mutual animosity.
Since then, direct flights between the two countries have resumed, while their shared border has been opened to third-country nationals and holders of diplomatic passports.
Progress, however, remains cautious, partly because Türkiye-Armenia normalisation is closely linked to the parallel peace process between longstanding rivals Armenia and Azerbaijan.
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