Georgia–Türkiye border

Batumi and Kars

The Ottomans reached the area by the early 16th century. Russia pushed south from 1801, and by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878 took the provinces of Batumi, Ardahan and Kars. Turkey demanded them back after Russia left the First World War, and treaties of 1920 and 1921 restored the pre-1878 line, except that Batumi province was split and the port of Batumi stayed with Russia. The line has not changed since 1921.^[1]

From the Black Sea just south of Sarpi, the border crosses the Çoruh and follows old provincial lines into the uplands. The coast is subtropical, with tea and citrus; the Laz on the Turkish side are akin to the Muslims of Adjara around Batumi across the line.^[1]

Roads and rails

The Sarp gate on the coast is the main crossing, and by 2006 it was a bottleneck, with queues of more than 300 vehicles; a railway from Kars to Tbilisi had been under consideration since 1993.^[3] That year Turkey had closed its border with Armenia in support of Azerbaijan, cutting the only rail link between Turkey and the Caucasus, through Gyumri. The Baku–Tbilisi–Kars line, which crosses this border instead, finally opened on 30 October 2017.^[2]

“new Silk Road venture initiated to connect Asia, Europe and Africa”^[2]