Ararat Mirzoyan: Full opening of the border between Armenia and  Turkey will complete the region`s transformation

ArmInfo. The full opening of the border between Armenia and Turkey will complete the region's transformation. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan stated this while speaking at the 32nd OSCE Ministerial Council.

"Since my last address at the 31st Ministerial Council meeting, our  region has been undergoing significant transformations. Most notably,  on August 8 in Washington, DC, the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and  the United States of America, as a witness, signed a declaration that  established peace in one of the most volatile and war-torn regions  within the OSCE's area of responsibility. Armenia and Azerbaijan have  also initialled the Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and  Inter-State Relations between the Republic of Armenia and the  Republic of Azerbaijan. At the same Washington Peace Summit, we  agreed to jointly appeal to the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, proposing  the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk structures, which formally marked  the end of the conflict," Mirzoyan said.

According to him, the Washington meeting has also opened a genuine  window of opportunity for unblocking communications between Armenia  and Azerbaijan for intrastate, bilateral and international  transportation based on full respect for sovereignty, territorial  integrity, and jurisdiction. Enhanced connectivity, including the  implementation of the "TRIPP route", aims at transforming the South  Caucasus into an efficient and secure transit and logistics hub,  connecting Europe with Central Asia, thus promoting not only economic  prosperity but also the broader architecture of regional security.

In this context, the Armenian Foreign Minister continued, Yerevan  welcomes Azerbaijan's recent statement on lifting the restrictions on  transit to Armenia. As an immediate and actual result, the first  shipments of grain have already entered Armenia through Azerbaijan  via the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Armenia railway route. In its turn,  Armenia has declared its readiness to ensure the transit of trucks  from Turkiye to Azerbaijan, and from Azerbaijan to Turkiye. 

   " The full opening of the border between Armenia and Turkiye is the  next crucial link in the chain I described, completing the  transformation of the region. We actively continue the dialogue with  Turkiye, aimed at full normalization of bilateral relations. In this  regard, I would like to inform you that just a few days ago,  representatives of the relevant institutions of the two countries  held the second round of technical discussions aimed at the  rehabilitation and reactivation of the Gyumri-Kars railway," Ararat  Mirzoyan noted.