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Türkiye and Armenia Türkiye has agreed to simplify visa procedures as part of efforts to normalize relations Ministry of Foreign Affairs Announced on Monday, this will make it easier for citizens of both countries to travel between the two countries.
Relations between Türkiye and Armenia have long been strained by historical grievances and Türkiye’s alliance with Armenia. Azerbaijan. The two neighbors have no formal diplomatic relations and their shared border has been closed since the 1990s.
However, the two countries agreed to work toward normalization in 2021, appointing special envoys to explore steps towards reconciliation and reopening the border. The talks coincide with efforts to ease tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
In 2020, Azerbaijan and Armenia clashed over control of the Karabakh region, known internationally as Nagorno-Karabakh, with Turkey backing Azerbaijan in a territorial dispute that has raged for nearly four decades.
The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement posted on social platform X, Ankara Yerevan agreed that starting from January 1, holders of diplomatic, special and service passports from both countries will be able to obtain electronic visas for free.
“Turkey and Armenia take this opportunity to reaffirm their commitment to continue the process of normalization of relations between the two countries, with the goal of achieving full normalization without any preconditions,” the ministry said.
Turkey and Armenia have also had a dispute that lasted for more than a century, and about 1.5 million Armenians died in massacres, deportations and forced marches that began in 1915 under Ottoman Turkey. Historians generally consider the event to be a genocide.
Türkiye denies the deaths amount to genocide, saying the death toll has been exaggerated and that the dead were victims of civil war and unrest. It lobbied to prevent countries from officially recognizing the Holocaust as a genocide.