The Armenian-Turkish Border May Open Before Elections in Armenia

Turkey is considering opening its land border with Armenia within the next six months, effectively ending Europe’s last closed border dating back to the Cold War era. This is reported by Bloomberg.

The diplomatic progress with Azerbaijan and the potential opening of the border with Turkey could provide significant support to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan ahead of the elections.

A formalization of a peace agreement could bring stability to a region that is crucial for energy pipelines transporting oil and gas from the Caspian Sea region and Central Asia to Europe, bypassing Russia.

Turkey had closed its border in 1993 in solidarity with Azerbaijan during the conflict with Armenia. Earlier this year, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a joint peace declaration with leaders from Armenia and Azerbaijan, aiming to put an end to the conflict.