Mirzoyan: Armenia, Turkey agree to jointly assess technical  requirements for border crossing via Gyumri- Kars railway

ArmInfo. After jointly assessing the condition of the Ani Bridge between Armenia and Turkey, the Armenian side has already completed the construction and technical modernization of the Margara border checkpoint on the Armenian-Turkish border, as stated by Ararat Mirzoyan, the Armenian Foreign Minister, during the ministerial session  of the "3+3"  regional platform.

In his opening remarks, Mirzoyan thanked the Turkish side for  organizing this meeting. "Armenia attaches great importance to  regional consultations and engagements. Continuous and sincere  dialogue, fostering people-to-people contacts, revitalizing trade and  economic ties, as well as ensuring  inclusiveness in regional  initiatives and projects are essential prerequisites for overcoming  existing contradictions and achieving better cooperation, development  and prosperity of our countries," the Armenian Foreign Minister said.

According to him, Armenia strongly believes that responsible  approaches and constructive efforts of all regional actors to this  end at the same time will largely contribute to achieving peace and  stability in the region.  "As a long-standing advocate for inclusive  and equitable transport connectivity to promote trade and  cooperation, Mrzoyan continued, Armenia is sincerely interested in  unblocking all economic and transport communications in the region."  "Our vision of enhanced regional connectivity is clearly reflected in  the Crossroads of Peace initiative, which was introduced by the Prime  Minister of Armenia a year ago. The key essence of this project is to  develop communications among all countries in the region and beyond  through the renovation, construction and operation of roads,  railways, pipelines, cables and power lines. Four principles are  essential for the implementation of this project: respect for the  sovereignty and jurisdiction of all states, as well as equality and  reciprocity. When implemented, the Crossroads of Peace can become an  integral part of global logistics routes, ensuring greater speed and  efficiency in the passage of goods," said Armenia's top diplomat. At  the same time, Mirzoyan positively assessed the reaction of Armenia's  partners to this project. "I am glad to stress that this initiative  has been welcomed by many of our partners, and Iran was among the  first ones. Having a mutual commitment to extend our trade and  connectivity, Armenia is taking active practical steps for the  construction of the North-South highway, assessing the advantages of  using the Chabahar port as well as working to reciprocally reduce  road fees between our countries," the minister added. He further  stated that Armenia, continuing to enhance the capabilities for its  own border services and customs control with neighbors, and in this  regard, the RA Border Service will fully overtake the operation on  the Armenia-Iran border checkpoint from January 1, 2025. In this  regard, he expressed gratitude to the relevant authorities of the  Russian Federation for their assistance and service throughout the  years.

In the context of the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations,  Mirzoyan said that Armenia and Turkey have already agreed to jointly  assess the technical requirements for the border crossing via the  Gyumri- Kars railway. "This comes to complement the already  implemented decisions on the establishment of direct flights between  Armenia and Turkey and reciprocally lifting bans for air cargo  trade," the Armenian minister said.

According to him, the operation of the Gyumri-Kars railway between  Armenia and Turkey, along with the railway connection between Armenia  and Azerbaijan, will immediately provide an effective link between  the Persian Gulf, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea and the  Mediterranean. "With this vision in mind, as you are all aware, we  have proposed to Azerbaijan modalities of relaunching our rail  infrastructure, simplifying border crossings and customs procedures  and ensuring some additional security mechanisms with full respect  for the sovereignty and jurisdiction of both countries," the Armenian  Foreign Minister noted. In conclusion, Mirzoyan reaffirmed that  Armenia is sincerely interested and has already demonstrated  numerously its commitment to contributing to the development of  regional connectivity and strengthening interdependence with its  neighbors based on the principles of the UN Charter, namely  sovereignty, territorial integrity, inviolability of internationally  recognized borders and political independence.