Armenia wants to use EU to open its border with Turkey – Sergei Melkonian

If Armenia is interested and wants to use the EU as a means to open its border with Turkey, it should take certain additional steps, political analyst Sergei Melkonian said in an interview with Alpha News.

“I believe that when it comes to the EU-Armenia-Turkey triangle, Yerevan’s priority today is to make the most effective use of these partners so that Turkey can open its border with Armenia. That is the main goal. But everything comes at a price. If Armenia is interested and wants to use the EU as a tool to open the border with Turkey, it must also take other steps. It is expected that Armenia will more closely follow sanctions against Russia. Secondly, it is necessary to build closer relations with Turkey to reduce dependence on Russia,” he noted.

According to the political analyst, the Armenian-Turkish border could be opened to citizens of third countries without the signing of a peace agreement.

“Turkey rules out fully opening the border with Armenia until relations with Azerbaijan receive the green light and a peace treaty is signed. However, such a treaty could be signed at best in 2027, meaning that full opening of the border is at least two years away. Yet it is not excluded that the border could be opened on the basis of an agreement reached more than three years ago, under which the Armenian-Turkish border could be opened to citizens of third countries. This is possible, but it does not mean that the border as a whole will be opened,” Melkonian concluded.