Opening of Armenian-Turkish border will open new economic prospects for both countries — Rubinyan

YEREVAN, March 14. /ARKA/. Opening of the Armenian-Turkish border will create big economic opportunities not only for Armenia, but also for Turkey and other countries in the region, said deputy chairman of Armenian National Assembly Ruben Rubinyan, who is also Armenia's special envoy for the talks with Turkey, in an interview with the Turkish Ihlas news agency.

"There is a consensus that an open border is better than a closed one. It's as simple as that. This is true not only in economic terms, but also in terms of interpersonal contacts and many other areas," he noted.

According to Rubinyan, certain steps have been taken in the process of normalizing relations between Armenia and Turkey.

"For example, the resumption of flights between Yerevan and Istanbul, the start of air trade between our countries. There are still some agreements that we are working on, such as the reconstruction of the historic bridge on the border. However, the most important agreement we have concluded so far is the agreement on opening the land border of Armenia for third-country nationals and holders of diplomatic passports,” Rubinyan said.

Rubinyan also said that the checkpoint on the Armenian side has been completely renovated.

“Now we expect the Turkish side to fulfill its part and implement this agreement that we concluded three years ago. And we hope that this will happen,” Rubinyan emphasized.

Turkey shut down the common border in 1993, in a show of solidarity with Azerbaijan, which was locked in a conflict with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.-0-