A meeting of the Special Representatives of Armenia and Turkey will take place. Official Yerevan has confirmed that the meeting will be held. Let us recall that previously, the Turkish press reported that the special representatives would hold their first meetings regarding the operation of the Margara-Alican border checkpoint.
The outcome of the meeting is noteworthy. One of the main issues is whether the working groups will reach an agreement regarding the opening of the borders.
In a statement to Modern.az, political scientist Elkhan Shahinoglu stated that Turkey is not rushing to open its borders with Armenia because a peace agreement has not been signed:
“While Azerbaijani territories were under occupation, three states – Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan – did not officially recognize Armenia. They had no diplomatic relations with Armenia. Turkey's borders with Armenia were also closed. However, after Azerbaijan liberated its territories from occupation in the Second Karabakh War, the issue of these three countries establishing contacts with Armenia came to the forefront. We did not object to this, because we have already resolved our issue. Armenia primarily wants to normalize relations with Turkey. Contacts have been ongoing for some time, and meetings are being held between Turkish and Armenian officials. But because a peace agreement has not been signed between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Turkey is not rushing to open the border with Armenia".
The political scientist emphasized that both the expansion of dialogue and the opening of borders are possible:
"Contacts have intensified. And for the first time, a Turkish delegation will cross to the zero point of the border towards Armenia. Both the expansion of dialogue and the opening of borders are possible. This is not a problem; on the contrary, I believe that the more relations Armenia establishes with Turkey, and after a peace agreement is signed with Azerbaijan and the Zangezur corridor is opened, if various trade and economic ties are also established with Azerbaijan, this will benefit Azerbaijan and Turkey, as well as Armenia. It will be necessary to distance Armenia from the influence of Russia and Iran and ensure that it operates within the framework of Turkey's and Azerbaijan's interests".
