Turkey and Armenia have agreed to simplify visa procedures as part of ongoing normalization talks, with diplomatic, special and service passport holders eligible for free electronic visas from Jan. 1. The move follows 2021 talks in which both countries appointed special envoys to pursue reconciliation and a possible reopening of their closed border. Relations remain strained by Turkey's support for Azerbaijan in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and by a long-standing dispute over the 1915 mass deaths of Armenians, which Turkey contests.
Turkey and Armenia Agree to Simplify Visas in Push to Normalize Relations
FILE - Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, and Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan shake hands before a meeting at Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022. (Turkish Presidency via AP, File)
Turkey and Armenia have agreed to simplify visa procedures as part of a broader effort to normalize ties, the Turkish Foreign Ministry announced Monday. The change is intended to make travel easier for citizens and to build momentum in a diplomatic process that began in 2021.
Visa Agreement
In a statement posted on the social platform X, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said Ankara and Yerevan agreed that holders of diplomatic, special and service passports from both countries will be eligible to obtain electronic visas free of charge beginning Jan. 1. The move is limited to these categories of passports and does not yet establish full visa-free travel.
"On this occasion, Turkey and Armenia reaffirm once again their commitment to continue the normalization process between the two countries with the goal of achieving full normalization without any preconditions," the ministry said.
Background and Context
Turkey and Armenia have had strained relations for decades. The countries have no formal diplomatic relations and their shared border has been closed since the 1990s. In 2021 both governments appointed special envoys to explore concrete steps toward reconciliation and the eventual reopening of the frontier.
The diplomatic talks have proceeded alongside efforts to reduce tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Turkey supported Azerbaijan in the 2020 conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, a long-running territorial dispute that reignited into open warfare in 2020.
Historical Dispute
The two countries also remain divided over the mass deaths of Armenians that began in 1915 in Ottoman-era territories. Many historians and dozens of countries consider those events a genocide; Turkey rejects that characterization, arguing that casualty figures and circumstances have been misrepresented and attributing many deaths to wartime conditions and unrest. Ankara has actively lobbied against official recognition of the events as genocide.
While the visa measure is limited in scope, it is a diplomatic step that could help build trust and facilitate further talks on more substantive steps toward normalization.
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