Armenia–Türkiye border

Rivers under Ararat

The line crosses the Armenian Plateau and follows the main channel of the Arpa, or Akhurian, for more than 67 miles and then the Aras. Mount Ararat, 16,945 feet, rises on the Turkish side, and Mount Aragats to the north-west on the other. The area changed hands several times in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but the boundary has not changed since 1921.^[1]

Closed

Armenia and Türkiye have never had diplomatic relations. Türkiye closed the border in 1993 in solidarity with Azerbaijan during the first Karabakh war. An initiative to establish relations in 2009 stalled, and after the 2020 war special envoys began a new normalisation process.^[3][2]

On 11 February 2023, after the earthquake in Türkiye, five Armenian trucks carrying 100 tons of aid crossed the narrow bridge from Margara to the Turkish village of Alican, the first use of the border in three decades. Türkiye’s envoy, Serdar Kılıç, said he would always remember the generous aid; Armenian officials called it a one-time opening.^[2]

On 13 May 2026 Türkiye’s foreign ministry announced streamlined rules for trade with Armenia through third countries and said technical work towards opening the border was continuing. Armenia’s foreign ministry called it an important step.^[3]

“The necessary technical and bureaucratic studies for the opening of the common border between the two countries are still ongoing”^[3]