Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, joined by senior Foreign Ministry officials and the heads of Armenia’s diplomatic missions abroad, visited the Margara border checkpoint on the Armenia-Turkey border on August 30 as Yerevan continues preparations for the possible opening of the long-closed frontier.
During the visit, State Revenue Committee Chairman Eduard Hakobyan briefed the delegation on renovation and modernization work at the checkpoint and said the facility is fully prepared for operation.
Despite the checkpoint’s technical readiness, no date has been announced for the opening of the Armenia-Turkey land border to regular traffic.
Armenia and Turkey agreed in July 2022 to allow third-country nationals to cross their land border, but the agreement has yet to be implemented. The two sides later expanded discussions to include diplomatic passport holders and other measures aimed at normalization.
Earlier this month, Armenia’s special representative for normalization with Turkey, Ruben Rubinyan, said Armenia is ready to implement the agreement and is waiting for Turkey to do the same. Speaking on August 2, Rubinyan said Armenia’s infrastructure had long been prepared and that Turkey had also recently completed renovation work on its side of the border.
“We are now awaiting implementation of the agreement,” Rubinyan said.
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said in May that bureaucratic preparations allowing direct trade between the two countries had been completed, while technical and bureaucratic work related to opening the common border was still underway.
The Margara checkpoint has nevertheless been used on several occasions for humanitarian purposes. Most recently, Armenia temporarily opened the crossing from June 12 to June 22 to transport humanitarian assistance to Lebanon through Turkey. Four Armenian trucks carrying approximately 80 tons of medicine, hygiene supplies and food crossed the border on June 12.
Turkey unilaterally closed its land border with Armenia in 1993. The two countries still do not have formal diplomatic relations, although a normalization process led by Rubinyan and Turkey’s special representative Serdar Kılıç has been underway since 2022.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in June that the normalization process continues “in close coordination with Azerbaijan,” while expressing support for the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process.
Mirzoyan’s visit to Margara therefore comes as the physical infrastructure on both sides appears ready, but the political decision needed to put the crossing into regular operation remains pending.
