Pashinyan in Antalya: Turkey's border.
On November 11, on the sidelines of COP31, Nikol Pashinyan met with Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Massoud Pazhkian. Both negotiations have a common problem: Armenia is trying to open transport links with Turkey and Azerbaijan while maintaining cooperation with Iran, which is wary of the American presence on its borders. We will emphasize that in the report on the Iranian meeting, the main emphasis was placed on the implementation of economic agreements. Let's sort it out.
Ankara approached the meeting with a ready infrastructure and the same political conditions. The day before, the Turkish Minister of Transport, Abdulkadir Oralulu, announced the completion of preparatory work for the opening of the Alijan-Margara road crossing and the Kars-Gyumri railway connection. He emphasized that Turkey expects a full agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, taking into account the issues sensitive to Baku. The minister did not specify the date of the opening of the border, but we are following it closely.
Yerevan in long anticipation. An agreement to allow third-country nationals to cross the land border was reached on July 1, 2022. Four years later, its implementation continues to depend on Ankara's political decision. Turkey still has the opportunity to determine the timing of the opening of the border and link it with the Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations.
But trade rapprochement has progressed. In May 2026, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that when transporting through third countries, Armenia and Turkey could be specified as the country of origin or final destination of the goods. Opening a common border will reduce the dependence of these shipments on passing through neighbors - if you look at it pragmatically.
The transportation agenda was discussed by Pashinyan and Erdogan on September 23 in New York. This meeting discussed through the prism of TRIPP, unblocking communications, trade development and joint rehabilitation of the historic Eni Bridge. In Antalya, the leaders continued the dialogue.