Rubinyan: Armenia is ready to normalize relations with Turkey and  open borders right now

ArmInfo. Armenia is ready to normalize relations with Turkey and open borders right now.  Vice-Speaker of the Parliament, the Special Representative of Armenia  for the normalization of relations with Turkey, Ruben Rubinyan,  stated at the Antalya Diplomatic Forum.  

"If Serdar agrees, we can announce it today. I hope you agree and this forum will be  a  historical one. In July 2022, Serdar and I announced that we would  open the land border to third-country nationals, and then to  diplomatic passport holders in the summer of 2023 year.  Unfortunately, this has not happened yet. On the Armenian side, the  entire infrastructure is ready for that," Rubinyan said.

He noted that he made such a proposal because he feels that Turkey is  not ready to go further.  The Armenian Vice-Speaker recalled that  during the earthquake in Turkey, the borders of the two countries  were open to provide and receive humanitarian assistance, and this,  according to him, was an inspiring moment. "We shouldn't need  tragedies to open borders, but we need open borders during times of  happiness and prosperity. And I see no reason why the  Armenian-Turkish border should remain closed. We must not create  barriers in this process," he noted, expressing his conviction that  Conditions should be ensured for the contacts of citizens of Armenia  and Turkey.

Rubinyan once again noted the importance of opening the  Armenian-Turkish border for citizens of third countries and holders  of diplomatic passports.

In turn, Turkey's special representative for the normalization of  relations with Armenia, Serdar Kilic, agreed with aforementioned,  promising that this will happen soon. At the same time, he expressed  the conviction that it is necessary to join efforts to neutralize  existing obstacles.

"It is clear that first we will open the border for citizens of third  countries, and then the process will expand for citizens of our two  states. But Ruben sometimes overlooks some important points. I would  like to remind you that there is air traffic between our countries,  which means that there is communication and dialogue between the  citizens of Armenia and Turkey. Opening the border is not the only  step, there are also others from our side," the Turkish diplomat  noted, also pointing out the existence of quite serious trade  relations between Armenia and Turkey.

The diplomat assured that the border will open when the time comes.  "As you remember, we met with you in Moscow, Ruben, and there were no  preconditions for this. I am ready to come to Yerevan often, and you,  in turn, come to Ankara. But a meeting may be held in Ankara or  Yerevan without any preconditions. Lack of meetings and prerequisites  cause problems," he added.

Reacting to Kilic's staements, Rubinyan suggested that there was some  kind of misunderstanding, since Yerevan did not put forward any  preconditions for normalizing relations with Ankara or holding  meetings.