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The Türkiye-Armenia border will open after Armenia's June 7 parliamentary elections and a constitutional amendment that removes Azerbaijani territorial claims, Azerbaijan's Ambassador to Ankara, Rashad Mammadov, told the Turkish daily Cumhuriyet.
Mammadov was responding to a question about claims that Türkiye wants to open its land border with Armenia but has been blocked by Azerbaijan. "We are conducting a coordinated policy with Türkiye, we are in constant contact with Turkish foreign affairs," he said.
"We are running the Armenia-Türkiye normalization and the Armenia-Azerbaijan normalization processes in parallel," the ambassador noted.
"We are in agreement with each other, we are going step by step," he added.
Mammadov stated that Armenia's constitution currently contains a territorial claim against Azerbaijan, and that Yerevan is expected to remove it through a referendum following the June 7 elections.
"After the territorial claim is eliminated, the Azerbaijan-Armenia peace agreement initialed in the U.S. will be signed. After that, the Armenia-Türkiye and Armenia-Azerbaijan borders will open," he said.
The peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia was accepted by the two countries' foreign ministers at a trilateral summit in Washington on Aug. 8, 2025, hosted by U.S. President Donald Trump, with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in attendance.
The 17-article agreement provides for the establishment of peaceful relations based on mutual recognition of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and borders.
The parties committed to making no territorial claims against each other, refraining from the use of force, non-interference in internal affairs, and cooperation on border security.
The agreement was designed to be signed after Armenia amends its constitution.
Two border crossings connect the two countries: Alican in Igdir and Akyaka in Kars.
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Asked about Türkiye and Armenia launching direct trade last week, Mammadov said both sides were already moving incrementally.
"We are taking small steps, Azerbaijan is too. Azerbaijan has also started trade. We now play a role in Armenia's energy security. We provide their oil and fuel. We facilitate the transport of their wheat and other products through Azerbaijan from Kazakhstan and Russia. And we tell them: if there is peace, your security will also be better. Türkiye is also taking very small steps," he said.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry announced on May 13 that bureaucratic preparations for launching direct trade between Türkiye and Armenia had been completed, allowing direct exports from Türkiye to Armenia under a new arrangement.
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