Türkiye-Armenia border reopens after 30-year hiatus to aid quake zone

ISTANBUL (AA) – The Türkiye-Armenia border on Saturday reopened for the first time in 35 years to carry humanitarian aid to people affected by Monday’s huge twin earthquakes in southern Türkiye.

Five trucks carrying aid from Armenia crossed the border via the Alican border crossing eastern Türkiye’s Igdir province.

Armenia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan shared a video showing aid trucks crossing a bridge to arrive in Türkiye.

“Humanitarian aid from #Armenia crossed the Margara bridge on#Armenia-#Turkey border heading to earthquake-stricken region,” Kostanyan said on Twitter.

Serdar Kilic, Türkiye’s special envoy to discuss steps for normalization of ties with Armenia, thanked on Twitter to Armenia for the aid.

“Thank you dear @VahanKostanyan thank you dear @RubenRubinyan for your kind efforts to make this happen,” Kilic said. “I will always remember the generous aid sent by the people of Armenia to help alleviate the sufferings of our people in the earthquake-striken region in Türkiye.”

Vahan Hunanyan, a spokesperson for Armenia's Foreign Ministry said on Twitter: “Today #Armenia has sent humanitarian aid to #Turkey. Trucks with humanitarian aid have crossed the Margara bridge on the border and are on their way to the earthquake-stricken region.”

The Alican border crossing was also used in 1988 when a big earthquake hit Armenia to send aid collected by the Turkish Red Crescent to the affected areas.

Last year, Turkish and Armenian officials agreed to open the land border for third-country citizens visiting both countries as soon as possible, the Turkish Foreign Ministry had said.

As part of the efforts, Türkiye and Armenia have also resumed commercial flights as of February 2022 after a two-year hiatus.

The two countries have been divided on a range of issues, including Armenia’s occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh, and 1915 events during the Ottoman Empire era, and the border between the two neighboring countries has been closed since 1993.

*Huseyin Yildiz in Igdir contributed to this story.