Armenia has gained access to freight transport via the Akhalkalaki-Kars railway.
Armenia now has the opportunity to export and import products via the railway between Georgia and Turkey, Nikol Pashinyan announced. Turkey's special envoy called this a step toward establishing direct trade between Turkey and Armenia.
As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," in June 2023, Nikol Pashinyan, having flown to Ankara for the inauguration ceremony of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, became the first Armenian leader in 15 years to visit Turkey. In July of that year, a meeting between Armenian and Turkish special representatives was held to discuss normalizing relations, but political analysts assessed the agreements reached as insignificant and doubted a quick improvement in relations between the two countries. In December 2024, Armenia and Turkey agreed to jointly assess the technical requirements for crossing the Gyumri-Kars railway.
Turkey and Armenia do not maintain diplomatic relations; the border between the two republics has been closed since 1993 at Ankara's initiative. The disagreements between the countries stem from the Karabakh conflict, in which Turkey supported Azerbaijan, and the historical assessment of the 1915 massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, which Yerevan considers the Armenian Genocide, a view the Turkish authorities disagree with. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated in April 2022 that Armenia was negotiating normalization of relations with Turkey.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced today that the Akhalkalaki (Georgia) – Kars (Turkey) railway is open for exports and imports to Armenia.
"I am pleased to announce that the Akhalkalaki – Kars railway, like the Azerbaijani railway, is now open for exports from Armenia and imports to Armenia. This is a major event in the economic life of our country. "I thank our partners from Turkey and Georgia," Novosti-Armenia quotes Pashinyan as saying.
The railway line from Akhalkalaki station in Georgia to the station in the Turkish city of Kars was built as part of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project. The Akhalkalaki-Kars section is 105 km long, 76 km of which are in Turkish territory and 29 km in Georgian territory. The first freight train on the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway departed on October 30, 2017.
The Prime Minister clarified that Armenia currently has rail links with Russia through Georgia and Azerbaijan, and then with China through Russia and Kazakhstan.
"Now rail links are also possible with the European Union through Georgia and Turkey. The opening of rail links between Armenia and Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and then through Nakhchivan, Armenia and Iran is expected in the near future. We will witness these events in the near future as a result of the implementation of the TRIPP project," Pashinyan said.
On August 8, 2025, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Nikol Pashinyan signed a declaration on the cessation of hostilities at a meeting in Washington. US President Donald Trump stated that the key issue that prevented the signing of a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the Zangezur Corridor, has been resolved. The "Caucasian Knot" has prepared a report "Trump Route" (TRIPP): Transport Corridor through Armenia".
Earlier, on May 13, Ankara announced the completion of preparations for the launch of direct trade between Turkey and Armenia. Yerevan noted that trade between Armenia and Turkey, in the customs sense, has become possible directly, without re-clearance through third countries, the publication writes.
Turkish Special Envoy Serdar Kılıç called the opening of the Akhalkalaki-Kars railway for Armenia "a new step in direct trade as part of the normalization process between Turkey and Armenia."
"I hope that this new step, which will also strengthen the quadrilateral cooperation between Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia and make a significant contribution to regional peace and stability, will bring good luck to all these countries," the newspaper quotes today. His words, according to News.am.
As a reminder, in October 2025, Ilham Aliyev announced the lifting of all restrictions on cargo transit to Armenia. The Armenian authorities called this an important step in opening regional communications. In early November 2025, a cargo of Russian grain arrived in Armenia via Azerbaijan for the first time since the 1990s. The Armenian government noted that this fulfilled one of the agreements reached in the United States, which contributes to strengthening peace between Yerevan and Baku.
By May 6, 100,000 tons of grain were transiting from Russia to Armenia via Azerbaijan. href="https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/423023">More than 25,000 tons of grain, over 3,000 tons of fertilizer, and 68 tons of buckwheat were shipped. The wagons are sent from Azerbaijan by rail first to Georgia and from there to Armenia.
Since December 2025, Azerbaijan has also been exporting petroleum products to Armenia. By May 3, more than 8,500 tons of diesel fuel, 979 tons of AI-92 gasoline, and 2,955 tons of AI-95 gasoline had been exported. The volumes of gasoline supplies are insignificant and can be viewed primarily as a political gesture in the context of a peaceful settlement, Armenian economists previously noted.
On February 4, Aliyev and Pashinyan discussed the initiated economic cooperation at a meeting in the UAE and agreed to seek opportunities to expand trade. Trade and economic cooperation between Azerbaijan and Armenia Although mutually beneficial, will be limited in the near future, analysts in Baku noted.
Translated automatically via Google translate from https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/423510
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