Armenia-Turkey Crossing Opened For First Time In 35 Years For Quake Support

The land border was opened the final time a significant earthquake struck Turkey. (File)

Istanbul, Turkey:

A border crossing between Armenia and Turkey opened for the primary time in 35 years on Saturday, to permit humanitarian help by way of after a large earthquake hit the area, an official mentioned.

5 vehicles with help together with meals and water arrived in Turkey from the Alican border crossing, tweeted Serdar Kilic, Turkey’s particular envoy for dialogue with Armenia.

The help comes after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake rocked Turkey and Syria this week, killing practically 25,000 individuals in each international locations, and injuring tens of hundreds extra.

State information company Anadolu mentioned this was the primary time the crossing had opened since 1988, when Turkey despatched help to Armenia after the nation was hit by an earthquake that killed between 25,000 to 30,000.

Kilic in his tweet thanked Armenia and the Armenian nationwide meeting’s vice chairman Ruben Rubinyan. The help additionally included drugs, he mentioned.

“Completely satisfied to have been in a position to help,” Rubinyan mentioned on Twitter.

The 2 international locations have by no means established formal diplomatic relations and their shared border has been closed because the Nineteen Nineties.

Their relationship is strained by World Conflict I-era mass killings of Armenians within the Ottoman Empire, atrocities Yerevan insists quantity to a genocide.

However in December 2021, the 2 international locations appointed particular envoys to assist normalise relations — a yr after Armenia misplaced to Turkey’s ally Azerbaijan in a battle for management of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh area.

Turkey fiercely rejects the genocide label, arguing that 300,000 to 500,000 Armenians and a minimum of as many Turks died in civil strife when Armenians rose up towards their Ottoman rulers and sided with invading Russian troops.

In February 2022, Turkey and Armenia resumed their first business flights in two years.

The land border between the 2 international locations has remained closed since 1993 nevertheless, forcing vehicles to transit by way of Georgia or Iran.

(Aside from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is printed from a syndicated feed.)