Türkiye has completed bureaucratic preparations to launch direct trade with Armenia as part of the ongoing normalisation process between the two countries, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oncu Keceli said.
In a statement shared on social media platform X on Tuesday, Keceli said the preparations were finalised on May 11 within the framework of confidence-building measures undertaken since normalisation talks between Ankara and Yerevan began in 2022.
He added that technical and bureaucratic work aimed at opening the shared border between the two countries is still ongoing.
Under the new arrangement, goods traveling from Türkiye to Armenia through a third country, or vice versa, will now be allowed to list their final destination or point of origin directly as “Armenia/Türkiye,” Keceli said.
He said Türkiye would continue contributing to the development of economic relations in the South Caucasus and support efforts to advance regional cooperation for the benefit of all countries and peoples in the region.
The announcement marks the latest in a series of confidence-building measures under the normalisation process relaunched in 2022.
In March, Turkish Airlines launched daily flights between Istanbul and Yerevan, while the two countries earlier this year agreed to ease visa procedures for diplomatic and special passport holders.
Construction at the Alican-Margara border crossing, linking Türkiye’s Igdir province with Armenia’s Armavir region, is now around 90 percent complete.
The two sides also recently agreed to restore the medieval Ani Bridge along their shared border, a symbolic step diplomats say reflects broader momentum in the normalisation effort.
Türkiye and Armenia have had no formal diplomatic relations and their land border has remained closed since 1993.
