Armenia Extends Ban on Turkish Imports for Another Six Months

YEREVAN (ARKA) – The government of Armenia has extended today the ban on imports of goods of Turkish origin for another 6 months.

Armenian government’s ban on import of Turkish goods imposed during the recent war in Nagorno-Karabakh, came into force on January 1, 2021.

On October 21, almost a month after Azerbaijan, backed by Turkey and Middle East mercenaries, attacked Nagorno-Karabakh, the Armenian government imposed the six-month ban on imports of Turkish goods.

The Armenian government said at that time that the measure was a retaliation to the Turkish authorities’ provocative calls, supply of arms to Azerbaijan and deployment of mercenaries from the Middle East to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, which undermined the stability in the region, including the international efforts to find a peaceful settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“The extension of the ban on the import of goods of Turkish origin should be reviewed not only as an economic sanction against Turkey, but also from the security point of view – to stop financing the Turkish state treasury from Armenian sources,” Economy Minister Vahan Kerobyan said.

He said a study show that over the past six months the volume of imports from Turkey decreased by almost 70%.

According to him, the structure of imports has changed significantly. If earlier this list included aviation fuel, vegetables and citrus fruits, cleaning products, knitwear, now it includes mainly building materials, knitted and cotton fabrics and natural leather.

According to government data, Armenia imported $268 million worth of Turkish-manufactured products in 2019 and $178 million worth of Turkish goods in January-October 2020, 15% down year on year. More precisely, $69.4 million worth clothing, $10.3 million worth citrus fruit, $35.2 million worth cars, equipment and mechanisms (electric heaters, refrigerators, etc.), $24.3 million worth oil and oil products, $23.6 million worth chemicals and $21.6 million worth base metals.

There are no diplomatic relations between Turkey and Armenia: official Ankara closed the border in 1993 out of solidarity with Azerbaijan. Turkey also overreacts to international recognition of the 1915 Armenian genocide in Ottoman Empire.