Armenia will host its 35th Independence Day reception in Istanbul on Oct. 14. The event marks a rare diplomatic event in Turkey as the two neighbors work to normalize long-strained ties.
Nairi Petrossian, Armenia’s permanent representative to the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (BSEC), will host the reception at the InterContinental Hotel on Oct. 14.
Turkey in Depth learned from a source familiar with the organization that “Turkish Foreign Ministry officials are of great help on this mission.”
Armenia previously celebrated its independence anniversary in Istanbul in October 2017. Yerevan opened its BSEC diplomatic mission office in Istanbul in 2002.
Turkey was among the first nations to recognize Armenia’s independence in 1991. However, Ankara closed its border and halted direct trade in 1993 in solidarity with Azerbaijan during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The two countries have engaged in cautious rapprochement since late 2021. Progress accelerated on April 28 following a Joint Working Group meeting in Kars. Both nations agreed to rehabilitate the long-dormant Kars-Gyumri railway, an important link expected to boost regional trade between Turkey, Armenia, Georgia, and Central Asia.
On May 13, Turkish authorities lifted certain customs restrictions, completing bureaucratic preparations for direct trade. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Öncü Keçeli said that technical assessments to reopen the shared land border remain ongoing.
