Türkiye, Armenia agree to start direct cargo trade at earliest date

Türkiye and Armenia agreed in normalisation talks between special representatives that the neighbours would start direct air cargo trade between each other at the earliest possible date, as they work to mend ties after decades of animosity.

Türkiye has been working to normalise relations with Armenia in coordination with Azerbaijan since December. The neighbours held a fourth round of talks in Vienna on Friday, following the first meeting between their foreign ministers in years in March.

In a statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said Ankara and Yerevan had also agreed to allow third-country citizens to cross their shared border at the earliest date possible and decided to initiate the necessary process to that end. The special envoys also discussed other possible steps for "full normalisation", it said.

The first round of normalization talks was held in Moscow on Jan. 14, where both parties agreed to continue negotiations without any preconditions, according to a statement released after the meeting.

Turkish and Armenian envoys met for the second time in Vienna on Feb. 24, and the third meeting was held on May 3 in the Austrian capital.

Also, a historic bilateral meeting took place between the foreign ministers of Türkiye and Armenia on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum on March 12.

As part of the efforts, Türkiye and Armenia have also resumed commercial flights as of Feb. 2 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.