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Turkey lifted some customs restrictions on Armenia on Wednesday, paving the way for direct trade links between the two countries in a further sign of normalising ties after over 30 years of strained relations.<\/p>\n
Turkey was one of the first countries to recognise Armenia\u2019s independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, but it closed its border and halted direct trade with its neighbour in 1993 in support of its close ally \u2060Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Armenia.<\/p>\n
The neighbours \u2060have had no formal diplomatic relations since then amid a legacy of deep historical hostility stemming from the World War One mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman forces, considered a genocide by \u200bArmenia and many other countries.<\/p>\n
The Turkish Foreign \u2060Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that the new regulations meant goods going from Turkey to a third country and then onto Armenia, or \u2060vice versa, can now have their final \u200cdestination or \u2060country of origin listed as either \u201cArmenia\u201d or \u201cTurkey\u201d.<\/p>\n
Armenia, with an economy a tiny fraction of Turkey\u2019s and heavily dependent on energy supplies from Russia and Iran, welcomed the \u200bnews.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis decision is significant for expanding trade and business ties between the two countries, \u200cpromoting economic connectivity in the region, and ensuring peace and prosperity,\u201d Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ani Badalyan said, according to the Armenpress state news agency.<\/p>\n
Negotiations are ongoing between Yerevan and Ankara to reopen their 311 km (193-mile) border.<\/p>\n
Ankara has \u200bsaid it wants to reopen the eastern frontier, but only if Armenia signs a peace treaty with Azerbaijan, with which Turkey has cultural and linguistic ties. Yerevan is also keen to see the border reopened.<\/p>\n
Armenia and Azerbaijan \u200creached a US-brokered \u200bpeace agreement last August to put an end to their nearly four decades of conflict, but have yet to sign a formal peace deal.<\/p>\n
Such a treaty \u2060could transform the South Caucasus, an energy-producing region \u200cneighbouring Russia, Europe and Iran that is criss-crossed by oil and gas pipelines but riven by closed \u200bborders and longstanding ethnic conflicts.<\/p>\n
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oncu Keceli said on Wednesday that work on reopening border \u200ccrossings \u2060between \u2060Turkey and Armenia was continuing.<\/p>\n
The two countries signed a memorandum of \u200bunderstanding earlier this month to restore the Ani Bridge, a historic 10th-century structure spanning a river \u200bacross their shared frontier.<\/p>\n
[Reuters]<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n