Yerevan and Ankara to Discuss Relaunch of Gyumri-Kars Railway

YEREVAN – Representatives of  Armenian and Turkish government agencies will meet soon to assess the conditions for resuming the Gyumri-Kars railway, said Deputy Parliament Speaker Ruben Rubinyan, who is also the Armenian envoy for the normalization of relations with Turkey.

“The date of the meeting is not yet set. As in the past, such as with the joint study on the Margara Bridge, representatives from the Armenian and Turkish departments will soon meet to conduct a similar study to implement this agreement. This involves assessing the conditions necessary for resuming the Gyumri-Kars railway,” Rubinyan told the Azatutyun Radio.

He emphasized that Armenia expects all agreements reached to be implemented and anticipates that the settlement process will conclude with the establishment of diplomatic relations and the opening of borders.

The special representatives of Armenia and Turkey last met in July this year at the renovated Margara checkpoint, where Rubinyan and his Turkish counterpart Kılıç agreed to jointly assess the technical requirements for crossing the border via the Gyumri-Kars railway.

On October 15, Armenian Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Gnel Sanosyan met with Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloglu in Istanbul during the World Congress of the International Road Federation. Details about this meeting have not been disclosed.

As Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan stated on October 18 at the 3+3 regional consultative platform ministerial meeting in Istanbul, the commissioning of the Gyumri-Kars railway, along with the railway connection between Armenia and Azerbaijan, will facilitate effective communication between the Persian Gulf, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea.