Turkey is considering reopening its land border with Armenia within the next six months, Bloomberg reports, citing sources familiar with the discussions. Although Armenia and Turkey reached agreements in 2022 to allow third-country citizens and diplomats to cross the frontier, the land border has remained closed, with Ankara linking progress to the Armenia–Azerbaijan peace process.
Following the latest meeting between Armenian and Turkish special envoys in September — first at the shared border and later in Yerevan — Armenia’s Foreign Ministry said the sides had agreed to “expedite” steps toward reopening the crossings Turkey shut in 1993 during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. It remains unclear whether any reopening would be full or limited to the provisions outlined in 2022.
Bloomberg’s sources indicate that Turkey is also weighing the appointment of an ambassador to Armenia, but would do so only after Armenia and Azerbaijan formalize a peace treaty — which Ankara expects could be signed in the first half of next year.
“If we normalize relations now, we will be taking away Armenia’s biggest reason for signing a peace agreement,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in November, warning that premature moves could freeze the conflict rather than resolve it.
Bloomberg reports that a diplomatic breakthrough with Azerbaijan and progress on reopening the Turkey–Armenia border could strengthen Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan ahead of the 2026 parliamentary elections and create momentum for signing the treaty during his next term.
Neither the Armenian nor Turkish foreign ministries responded to Bloomberg’s requests for comment.
In late November, Armenia hosted a meeting between representatives of the two countries at the Akyaka–Akhurik border crossing and later in Gyumri. The delegations discussed the second phase of technical work to rehabilitate and reactivate the Kars–Gyumri railway, according to Armenian envoy Ruben Rubinyan.
Separately, EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos announced in early December that talks are underway to create a special quadrilateral working group — involving Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and the EU — focused on regional connectivity infrastructure.
