Turkey and Armenia: When will the border crossings open?

## Summary
https://p.dw.com/p/5BboE The Armenian town of Ararat, and the mountain of the same name, lie at the border between Armenia, Turkey, Nakhichevan and Iran Image: Gilles Bader/dpa/MAXPPP/picture alliance Advertisement When the Armenian prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, stepped out of a car and walked toward his host, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan , in June 2025, it was a truly historic moment. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan (left) met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul in June last year Image: DHA There are two border crossings from Turkey to Armenia: Alican, in Igdir Province, and Akyaka, in Kars Province. Alternative trade route through Georgia Kaan Soyak, the head of the Turkish-Armenian Business Development Council, says that, because of the sealed border, the two countries have had to conduct trade indirectly for years. Construction of the roads and railways that will form part of the "Trump Corridor" is underway in Azerbaijan Image: Resul Rehimov / Anadolu/picture alliance People in the neighboring province of Ardahan, which shares two border crossings with Georgia, also have high hopes for the Turkish-Armenian rapprochement.

## Article Content
https://p.dw.com/p/5BboE
The Armenian town of Ararat, and the mountain of the same name, lie at the border between Armenia, Turkey, Nakhichevan and Iran
Image: Gilles Bader/dpa/MAXPPP/picture alliance
Advertisement
When the Armenian prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, stepped out of a car and walked toward his host, Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
, in June 2025, it was a truly historic moment. The two politicians shook hands, and turned to face the cameras together. It was the first time a representative of the Armenian government had visited Turkey, and he had been invited by the Turkish head of state.
Turkey
and
Armenia
share a land border almost 330 kilometers long (200 miles), but the enmity between the two countries dates back over a century. Relations have always been overshadowed by the 1915 massacre of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, which Germany and many other Western countries officially recognized as genocide in 2016.
Ankara's stance on the
Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict has further deepened the rift. Turkey sided with Armenia's adversary Azerbaijan, and closed the Turkish-Armenian border in 1993.
Peace agreement opens up new prospects
However, since 2022 a cautious rapprochement has been underway. Armenia no longer insists that Ankara recognize the events of 1915 as a genocide.
Also last year, Armenia signed a
peace agreement
with
Azerbaijan
that finally put an end to decades of war over Nagorno-Karabakh. Since then, Turkish companies have dared to hope for the normalization of relations in the region, and the opening of the border with Armenia, which has been closed for more than thirty years.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan (left) met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul in June last year
Image: DHA
There are two border crossings from Turkey to Armenia: Alican, in Igdir Province, and Akyaka, in Kars Province. Both have been closed since the first Nagorno-Karabakh war, but according to observers, they could be reopened within months.
Armenian media report that their government has already made the necessary preparations. On the Turkish side, work is still in progress, but is already at an advanced stage.
If the crossings were to open before Armenia's parliamentary elections in June, it would be a big win for Prime Minister Pashinyan. For years now, he has pursued reconciliation with Turkey, and sought to bring Armenia
closer to the West
.
Alternative trade route through Georgia
Kaan Soyak, the head of the Turkish-Armenian Business Development Council, says that, because of the sealed border, the two countries have had to conduct trade indirectly for years. He says that trade worth around 300–350 million US dollars (about 300 million euros) passes between them via
Georgia
. His statistics show that about 99% of this consists of goods transported from Turkey to Georgia, then on to Armenia.
According to Soyak, it's predominantly clothing, chemical products, foodstuffs, and raw precious metals. He firmly believes that, with the border open, the volume of bilateral trade could quickly increase to one billion dollars. He also anticipates the swift construction of logistics corridors, including energy and telecommunications lines that will connect directly to the whole of the Caucasus.
But the
Iran war
has delayed the countdown. According to Soyak, the expansion of the war to affect the Gulf states, Iraq, and Lebanon, has raised fears of a fresh wave of migration. Consequently, progress on plans to open the land border between Armenia and Turkey has slowed.
Anatolia hopes to boost tourism
Turkey's eastern provinces, including Kars, Igdir, Agri, Ardahan, and Van, are just a stone's throw from the Armenian border. They're also among the poorest regions of Anatolia. According to the Turkish Statistical Institute, they occupy the lowest places in the city rankings with a GDP of just €3,250 to €4,350 per capita.
The people in this region therefore have high hopes for the movement of goods and people across the border – and for the arrival of visitors from Armenia and the Armenian diaspora worldwide. Many important historical and religious sites lie on the Turkish side of the border, so opening this up could provide many new opportunities for
tourism
.
The ruins of the Church of the Redeemer at the medievial Armenian city of Ani, Kars Province, Turkey
Image: Alamy Stock Photo
Kadir Bozan, the head of the Kars Chamber of Commerce and Industry, also stresses the importance of the so-called
Trump Corridor
. The members of his organization see this route and its associated infrastructure as hugely significant.
Construction of the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity was agreed last August as part of the peace plan between Armenia and Azerbaijan, brokered by US President
Donald Trump
. The plan envisages a 43-kilometer (26-mile) road and rail corridor through Armenia, connecting Azerbaijan to its exclave of Nakhchivan before continuing to Turkey.
Transport corridor between C

---

## Expert Analysis

### Merits
- On the Turkish side, work is still in progress, but is already at an advanced stage.
- Consequently, progress on plans to open the land border between Armenia and Turkey has slowed.
- Many important historical and religious sites lie on the Turkish side of the border, so opening this up could provide many new opportunities for tourism .
- The members of his organization see this route and its associated infrastructure as hugely significant.

### Areas for Consideration
N/A

### Implications
- Both have been closed since the first Nagorno-Karabakh war, but according to observers, they could be reopened within months.
- He firmly believes that, with the border open, the volume of bilateral trade could quickly increase to one billion dollars.
- He also anticipates the swift construction of logistics corridors, including energy and telecommunications lines that will connect directly to the whole of the Caucasus.
- According to Soyak, the expansion of the war to affect the Gulf states, Iraq, and Lebanon, has raised fears of a fresh wave of migration.

### Expert Commentary
This article covers armenia, border, turkey topics. Notable strengths include discussion of armenia. Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.0. Word count: 1129.