Turkey and Armenia Resume Talks to Normalize Relations

Special envoys from Turkey and Armenia met on Tuesday at the Alican-Margara border crossing, marking a significant step in their ongoing efforts to normalize relations. The two countries, which have no formal diplomatic ties and have maintained a closed border since the 1990s, agreed in late 2021 to improve relations and appointed special envoys to facilitate discussions. Turkish Ambassador Serdar Kilic and Armenian parliament deputy speaker Ruben Rubinyan convened for their fifth meeting, during which they discussed streamlining visa procedures for diplomatic passport holders and evaluating the technical requirements for a railway border gate. The Turkish Foreign Ministry emphasized that both envoys reaffirmed their commitment to continue the normalization process without preconditions. This dialogue comes in the wake of a complex historical backdrop, including Turkey's support for Azerbaijan during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which ended with a Russia-brokered peace deal favoring Azerbaijan. Additionally, the two nations grapple with a painful history, particularly regarding the deaths of approximately 1.5 million Armenians during the Ottoman era, widely recognized as genocide by historians. The meeting also included a symbolic handshake between Kilic and Rubinyan, who later visited both sides of the border. This reconciliation effort is the second attempt since a 2009 agreement to establish formal relations and open the border, which ultimately went unratified. Notably, the border was briefly opened in 2023 to facilitate aid following a devastating earthquake in southern Turkey and northern Syria.