“As part of the confidence-building measures taken within the framework of our normalization process with Armenia, which has been ongoing since 2022, the bureaucratic preparations for the commencement of direct trade between Türkiye and Armenia have been completed as of 11 May 2026,” said the Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman, Oncu Keceli.
“The necessary technical and bureaucratic work regarding the opening of the common border between the two countries is still ongoing,” Keceli added in a statement. “With the new regulation, it has become possible to designate ‘Türkiye/Armenia’ as the final destination or point of origin for goods transported from Türkiye to Armenia via a third country, and vice versa.”
The Armenian Foreign Ministry swiftly welcomed the move. The ministry spokeswoman, Ani Badalian, said the opening of the border and establishment of diplomatic relations between the two states would be its “logical continuation.”
Ankara has for decades made the normalization of relations with Yerevan conditional on an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace deal acceptable to Baku. It has been reluctant to implement a 2022 agreement to the opening the border for Armenian and Turkish diplomatic passport holders as well as citizens of third countries.
Turkish media reported last year that the deal will likely be implemented in March, ahead of Armenia’s parliamentary elections slated for June 7. However, Ankara appears to be continuing to drag its feet.
The Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet reported recently that the partial border opening is now expected on June 4. However, Azerbaijan’s official Azertaj news agency last week cited an unnamed Turkish Foreign Ministry source as denying the report.
The 2022 agreement was signed by Turkish diplomat Serdar Kilic and Armenian parliament vice-speaker Ruben Rubinian. The latter also hailed Ankara’s latest announcement. He said Armenian goods can now be officially exported to Turkey via third countries.