Armenian FM hints at progress on Kars–Gyumri road, cross-border contacts

On November 5, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said progress was being made on reopening the Kars–Gyumri route and restoring contacts between Armenians and Azerbaijanis, though rebuilding people-to-people ties would take longer after years of conflict.

Speaking at a conference in Yerevan hosted by the Orbeli analytical centre, titled “Quiz on Peace: A Conversation with Armenia’s Foreign Minister”, Mirzoyan described the process as “painful but necessary,” Caliber.Az reports. 

He noted that, unlike in relations with Türkiye, Armenians and Azerbaijanis have little experience of civilian interaction.

“Over the years, residents of Armenia and Türkiye have maintained trade relations even with the border closed, often through third countries,” Mirzoyan said. “With Azerbaijan, such contacts are only now beginning to emerge.”

When asked by an Azerbaijani journalist about the timeline for the Armenian segment of the TRIPP transport corridor—linking Kars in Türkiye with Nakhchivan and further into Azerbaijan—Mirzoyan declined to name a specific date.

“The Armenian side is still discussing technical issues with our American partners, from documentation to the installation of electronic scanners,” he said, adding that Yerevan remains committed to activating the project as soon as possible.

“If the connection with Nakhchivan is important to you, then unblocking routes is important to us,” Mirzoyan remarked, noting that Baku’s recent move to lift restrictions on Armenian transit was “a significant and tangible step.”

He also underlined Armenia’s readiness to facilitate the transit of goods from Türkiye to Azerbaijan and emphasised the strategic importance of reopening the Kars–Gyumri railway, which could become a key link in trade between Europe and the East.

By Aghakazim Guliyev