Turkey and Armenia are set to formally resume bilateral trade after a 33-year suspension, marking a significant step in efforts to normalise relations between the two neighbours, a Turkish foreign ministry spokesman said on Wednesday.
Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in support of Azerbaijan during its conflict with Armenia over the Karabakh region.
According to the Turkish foreign ministry, bureaucratic arrangements for the initiation of direct trade between both countries have now been completed as of May 11, under an ongoing normalisation process that began in 2022.
Foreign ministry spokesman Öncü Keçeli announced the development on X, noting that while trade had previously flowed indirectly via a third country, it would now be formally recognised as direct exports between Turkey and Armenia.
However, he added that goods will still transit through a third country due to the absence of a functional border crossing, while technical preparations for reopening the shared border remain ongoing.
The Armenian foreign ministry welcomed the decision, describing the lifting of trade restrictions as an “important step” towards establishing fully normal diplomatic and economic relations.
The move comes amid gradual rapprochement between the two countries following renewed regional shifts after Azerbaijan’s military advances in Karabakh, which led to the displacement of much of the ethnic Armenian population.
In recent months, both sides have taken additional steps toward normalisation, including agreements to restore the Kars–Gyumri railway line and the launch of the first direct Istanbul–Yerevan flight by Turkish Airlines.
Despite diplomatic progress, tensions over historical grievances remain unresolved, particularly Armenia’s assertion that 1.5 million Armenians were killed between 1915 and 1917 under the Ottoman Empire—an allegation Turkey strongly rejects, disputing both the figures and the characterization of the events as genocide.
The latest development is being seen as one of the most significant advances in Turkey–Armenia relations in decades.
