MP: Armenia benefits from opening its border with Türkiye

Armenian MP Khachatur Sukiasyan has said the issue of Türkiye's closed skies for Armenian aircraft should be resolved by the country's aviation authorities together with their European and regional counterparts.

Armenian airline FlyOne, owned by Sukiasyan's family, has not been operating flights to Istanbul and several European countries since April 29 as Türkiye banned Armenian planes from crossing its airspace. Türkiye has also closed its airspace to the number one flight serving Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

"This issue should be resolved by the Armenian Ministry of Transport and aviation authorities, working with European and regional counterparts," Sukiasyan noted.

The parliamentarian noted that he remains in favour of opening the Armenian-Turkish border and normalising relations between the two states.

The politician explained his position by arguing that Armenia would benefit economically from open borders with all its neighbours - Georgia, Iran, Türkiye and Azerbaijan.

"I am in favour of this, as I understand that it is beneficial to my country. If Armenian products start to be exported to Europe via Türkiye, transportation costs will be reduced and goods will be more competitive," the MP explained.

The politician is also convinced that Armenia can become a transport hub and will naturally benefit from it. Moreover, in his opinion, "if Armenia was not under a blockade, large enterprises could operate in the country".

In his message of congratulation to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan expressed his hope for the normalisation of bilateral ties.

"Congratulations to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his re-election. Looking forward to continuing working together towards full normalisation of relations between our countries," Pashinyan tweeted on May 28.

Within the frame of a conducive political landscape after the Second Karabakh War between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2020, Turkiye initiated a direct dialogue without preconditions with Armenia for the gradual normalisation of relations. In that regard, Türkiye and Armenia appointed Ambassador Serdar Kılıç and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia Ruben Rubinyan, respectively, as Special Representatives for Normalization Process. After a series of meetings between Special Representatives, direct flights restarted as of 2 February 2022. It was agreed to open the Türkiye-Armenia border for third-country citizens and commence air cargo trade between the two countries on 1 July 2022.

Türkiye desires to advance the normalization process with Armenia through gradual and confidence-building steps, with the aim of establishing good neighborly relations, without preconditions, and in tandem with regional developments.