Written by journalist Danylo Aleksandrov

On Wednesday Türkiye canceled restrictions on direct trade with neighboring Armenia in a symbolic move to better relations with 2 countries which were rivals throughout history.

According to Turkish Foreign Ministry, the lifted restriction concerned shipments of goods from either Türkiye or Armenia going through a third country. Now these shipments can be listed with one of those countries listed as a point of origin or final destination. Previously this was not possible.

Spokesperson for Foreign Ministry of Türkiye Öncü Keçeli stated that his country is open to cooperation with countries in the region, and will continue the development of economic ties with them, as well as advancing the goal of peace and prosperity in the South Caucasus, adding that the gesture towards Armenia is a historic chance that Türkiye seized.

From his side, Spokesperson for Armenian Foreign Ministry Ani Badalyan said on X that this constitutes an important step in on the way to normalize bilateral relations. The next logical step, he added, would be to open the border between Türkiye and Armenia as well as establishing diplomatic relations.

Türkiye and Armenia do not have official relations and the border between countries is closed since the 1990s. The causes of overall bad bilateral relations stem from a long history and grievances and conflicts that arose over the course of it. A more recent factor is Ankara’s alliance with Azerbaijan – another country with strained relationship towards Yerevan. Azerbaijan received Turkish support in conflict over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. But in 2021 Türkiye and Armenia agreed to improve relations and begin the reconciliation efforts.