Armenia Says Turkey Lifted Ban On Cargo Traffic By Air

Armenia Says Turkey Lifted Ban on Cargo Traffic by Air

Turkey has informed Armenia about its decision to lift the ban on cargo shipments by air, effective immediately, Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Vahan Hunanyan told Sputnik on Friday

YEREVAN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th January, 2023) Turkey has informed Armenia about its decision to lift the ban on cargo shipments by air, effective immediately, Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Vahan Hunanyan told Sputnik on Friday.

Turkish news channel Haberturk cited Turkish diplomatic sources as saying earlier in the day that cargo traffic between the two neighboring nations had been made possible starting January 1.

"Turkey has informed Armenia about the end to the ban on airborne cargo shipments," he said.

The move follows an agreement that Armenian and Turkish negotiators made in July during normalization talks. Hunanyan said Armenia expected that third country nationals would be next allowed to cross the land border with Turkey.

The countries have had no diplomatic ties and their land border has remained closed since the early 1990s due to Ankara's support of Armenia's regional rival Azerbaijan and its refusal to recognize mass killings of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire.