Turkey, Armenia Resume Direct Trade After 33 Years

Turkey and Armenia announced on Wednesday the completion of bureaucratic steps to resume direct trade after a 33-year suspension, allowing goods to be officially classified as originating from or destined for either country despite transiting through third nations.

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Öncü Keçeli stated that the preparations were finalized as of May 11, marking a key advance in normalization efforts underway since 2022. Previously, trade between the neighbors had been routed indirectly, primarily through Georgia, where goods faced additional transit taxes and re-registration requirements. Under the new rules, shipments can now list Turkey or Armenia as the origin or final destination, streamlining customs processes and reducing costs, even as physical transport continues via third countries due to the closed land border.

Turkey sealed its 311-kilometer border with Armenia in 1993 to support ally Azerbaijan during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Relations remained frozen amid historical disputes, including Armenia's campaign for international recognition of the 1915-1917 deaths of Armenians under Ottoman rule as genocide, which Turkey rejects, attributing the...