Armenia announced on Thursday that it will lift its embargo on Turkish products, in force for a year, as of January 1, while both governments try to normalize their historically tense relations.
Ties are strained because Turkey does not recognize the genocide of the Armenians under the Ottoman Empire and because of its support for Azerbaijan during a war against Armenia last year.
But, after years of tensions, both countries, whose common border has been closed for almost three decades, have been adding gestures of appeasement in recent weeks, the last of which, the announcement of the embargo.
“It was decided not to extend the embargo on the importation of Turkish products into our country,” the Armenian Ministry of Economy said in a statement.
“We wait […] that, by virtue of the principle of reciprocity, favorable conditions be put in place to allow the export of Armenian products “to Turkey, he added.
Before the announcement of this measure, both countries appointed, in mid-December, emissaries to normalize relations and the Armenian and Turkish airlines submitted requests for charter flights between their territories.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu said Thursday that the two envoys would likely meet in January in Moscow, neutral territory, as Russia maintains good relations with both Turkey and Armenia.
“That first meeting will be important,” Cavusoglu stressed in a televised interview, considering Armenia’s efforts to improve its relations with his country as proof of its “good intentions.”
However, he downplayed the importance of ending the Armenian embargo, since it “was not applied anyway.”
– “Enabling atmosphere” –
For Hakob Badalyan, an Armenian political scientist, the Yerevan announcement is above all a symbolic gesture of goodwill before the two emissaries meet.
“Armenia wants to create an atmosphere conducive to dialogue,” he told AFP.