Armenian Side Ready for Border Opening with Turkey: Visit to Margara Checkpoint

The representatives of the "Friends of Armenia Network," led by Anders Fogh Rasmussen, founder and president of the international political consulting organization "Rasmussen Global" and former NATO Secretary General, noted during their visit to the renovated "Margara" border checkpoint that the Armenian side is ready for the border opening with Turkey.

Following the tour at the Margara checkpoint and familiarization with the existing opportunities, the representatives of the "Friends of Armenia Network" discussed the "Peace Crossroads" initiative, describing it as a promising endeavor.

Fredrik Weslau, an expert in European foreign policy, first outlined the main purpose of the group's visit to Armenia. "We are a group of Europeans who have worked in the South Caucasus and are very caring towards this region and Armenia. We are here to talk with our Armenian partners to better understand the situation—especially following the signing of the document in Washington on August 8, which is truly historic and has brought new hope and new peace to the region," said Weslau.

He found the Margara checkpoint and its infrastructure to be very impressive. "It is evident that the Armenian side is ready for the border opening, and we hope this will happen very soon," he added.

According to him, following the signing of the document in Washington on August 8, the opening of the Armenia-Turkey land border should be a smooth process. "I think we all want to witness the normalization of relations in this region. And, of course, the opening of borders should be part of that. We hope it will happen as soon as possible," Weslau noted.