Yerevan-Van flight to be first step to opening Armenian-Turkish border : Armenian MP
19.03.2013,
16:23
The direct air contact between Yerevan and Van (Turkey) will foster establishing the overland traffic and further opening the Armenian-Turkish border, said Aragats Akhoyan, Prosperous Armenia Party member.
YEREVAN, March 19. /ARKA/. The direct air contact between Yerevan and Van (Turkey) will foster establishing the overland traffic and further opening the Armenian-Turkish border, said Aragats Akhoyan, Prosperous Armenia Party member.
Yerevan-Van first flight is scheduled for April 3. BoraJet Turkish airlines will operate the flight on 68-seat planes. The ticket cost is $250, but passengers can get a 20% discount during the first month.
“Through this flight we are getting linked to our historical motherland, and along with this process we expect to accelerate the other processes as well: opening of the overland traffic and the border,” Akhoyan told reporters.
Gagik Gyurjyan, the chairman of Icomos-Armenia organization (Armenia’s national committee at International Council on Monuments and Sites), said this flight will be useful for businessmen in terms of establishing business contacts. However, on the other hand, tourism sector of Armenia will suffer.
“Nowadays, the Armenian companies offer tours to Western Armenia through Javakhk thus activating trading and tourism life of the region. Then tourists visit Ardagan, Kars, Igdir, Bayazet and other places where they can enjoy the sightseeing ,” he said and added that the new Yerevan-Van flight can reduce the tourist flows through these route.
There are currently no diplomatic relations established between Turkey and Armenia: official Ankara closed the border in 1993. The uneasy relationship between the countries is caused particularly by Ankara’s support to Azerbaijan on Karabakh problem and Turkey’s overreaction to international recognition of the 1915 Armenian genocide in Ottoman Empire.
Normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations started in fall 2008 initiated by Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan. On October 10, 2009, foreign ministers of Armenia and Turkey signed protocols about establishing diplomatic relations and developing bilateral relations to be ratified by the countries’ parliaments.
But on April 22, 2010 Armenian president signed a decree to suspend the process as Turkey is not ready to go on as the ratification of the protocols by Turkish parliament is frozen. -0-
