Türkiye says opening of Akhalkalaki-Kars railway to Armenia marks new step in normalization

Türkiye's special representative for the normalization process with Armenia said Sunday that the opening of the Akhalkalaki-Kars railway line to Armenia's imports and exports marks a new step in trade relations between the two neighboring countries.

Serdar Kilic, Türkiye's special envoy for the normalization process with Armenia, made the remarks in a post on the US social media company X, referring to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's earlier announcement that the railway line had been opened to Armenia's foreign trade.

Kilic described the development as a new step in direct trade within the framework of the Türkiye-Armenia normalization process.

"I hope this new step, which will also improve quadruple cooperation among Türkiye, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia and make a significant contribution to regional peace and stability, will be beneficial for all these countries," Kilic said.

The Armenian premier described the move as a major development for Armenia's economy and thanked partners in Türkiye and Georgia for their cooperation.

Pashinyan added that Armenia now has railway access to Russia through Georgia and Azerbaijan, and to China through Russia and Kazakhstan. He said that the railway route passing through Türkiye and Georgia would strengthen Armenia's connection with the European Union, while rail links with Türkiye, Azerbaijan and Iran were also expected to be established in the near future.