Turkey Still Vague on Opening Armenian Border Despite Earlier Agreement

YEREVAN — Turkish diplomat Serdar Kılıç, participating in the “Yerevan Dialogue” forum, declined to specify when Ankara plans to open the Armenian-Turkish border.

“We did not discuss the issue of opening the border here. We agreed that when the time is right and the formulations are finalized, we will open the border. Construction at the Alican checkpoint is nearly complete, but there are still certain matters that need to be finalized, personnel must be appointed, internet connectivity established, and so on,” Kılıç said.

The diplomat insisted that the remaining obstacles are “purely technical and bureaucratic” and would eventually be resolved.

“We expressed our political will back in August 2022. But I cannot predict when the border will open, and I do not want to provide inaccurate information,” he added.

Kılıç and Armenian National Assembly Vice Speaker Ruben Rubinyan signed the agreement following several rounds of negotiations. The agreement called for opening the border to Armenian and Turkish diplomatic passport holders, as well as citizens of third countries.

However, Ankara has since shown reluctance to implement the agreement, linking the normalization of relations with Yerevan to the signing of an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty.

Turkish media reported last year that the deal was likely to be implemented in March, ahead of Armenia’s parliamentary elections scheduled for June. Nevertheless, Ankara has continued to delay the partial reopening of the border.

Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet recently reported that the border opening is now expected on June 4, three days before Armenia’s elections. However, Azerbaijan’s state-run Azertaj news agency cited an unnamed Turkish Foreign Ministry source on Tuesday denying the report.