Civilnet
By Alexander Pracht
"Armenia’s long-shuttered border crossing with Turkey has been approved for reopening for ten days starting Friday to facilitate humanitarian aid delivery to Syria."
"This measure will allow for faster and cost-effective transportation of humanitarian aid sent from Armenia to the Syrian Arab Republic," today’s announcement said. The Turkish government has yet to confirm its cooperation.
The decision follows discussions between Armenian and Syrian officials on humanitarian cooperation. Armenia previously provided aid to Syria, home to a significant Armenian community affected by hostilities and natural disasters, on several occasions.
Aid will be delivered through Armenia’s recently-overhauled Margara border checkpoint. It has been closed since 1993 after Turkey unilaterally shut the border during the First Karabakh War. In 2022, Yerevan and Ankara agreed to open the border to third-country nationals and diplomats, however three years on, Turkey continues to delay implementation. It now indicates that the border will only open after Armenia and Turkey’s ally Azerbaijan complete their normalization process.
Russian border guards had been stationed at Margara until earlier this month, when they were replaced by Armenian forces.
The checkpoint was briefly opened in February 2023 when the Armenian government delivered humanitarian aid to Turkey and Syria following devastating earthquakes. This was the crossing’s only operational use since Armenia’s independence. The checkpoint was recently renovated, and last week, it was visited by a group of Turkish journalists who visited Armenia to interview Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and inspect border infrastructure.
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