According to the state-run Anadolu news agency and a diplomat, a border gate between long-time enemies Turkey and Armenia has been opened for the first time in 35 years to allow help for victims of the terrible earthquakes in southern Turkey.
Serdar Kilic, Turkey’s special representative for Armenia, tweeted images of trucks passing through the Alican crossing on the Turkish side of the Aras river between the two nations.
“I will always remember the generous aid sent by the people of Armenia to help alleviate the sufferings of our people in the earthquake stricken region in Turkey,” Kilic said, thanking Armenian officials.
According to Anadolu, the crossing was last used in 1988 to transport relief from Turkey’s Red Crescent to earthquake-stricken Armenia.
Following a meeting between their foreign ministries, Turkish and Armenian presidents met informally at a European summit the previous year in an effort to overcome decades of hostility.
Since the 1990s, Ankara has not maintained diplomatic or business connections with Armenia. The main point of contention between them is the 1.5 million people that Armenia claims were killed in 1915 by the Ottoman Empire, which was the forerunner of contemporary Turkey.
This, according to Armenia, is genocide.
While acknowledging that many Armenians who lived in the Ottoman Empire perished in battles with Ottoman forces during World War One, Turkey disputes the numbers and disputes that the deaths were systematically caused.
