The political scientist assessed the rapprochement between Armenia and Turkey

Armenia may suffer severe disappointment due to the improvement of relations with Turkey. Viktor Nadein-Rayevsky, senior researcher at IMEMO RAS and director of the Institute for Political and Social Studies of the Black Sea-Caspian Region, told Izvestia on May 14.

Corridor with a view: what to expect from the negotiations on the border of Armenia and Turkey

Yerevan hopes to break out of regional isolation

"The theses about peace and open borders sound progressive, but the effect of these decisions may not be at all what is expected in Yerevan. Armenian capital is much weaker than Turkish capital, Turks have cheap labor, and developed production of many categories of goods from clothing to machinery. A scenario is quite likely in which the Armenian market will be completely captured and local producers will be ruined," he warned.

On May 13, it became known that Turkey and Armenia have completed preparations for the launch of bilateral trade. Previously, goods were formally shipped to third countries, and then they were reissued during transit. Now exporters have the right to directly indicate the actual destination.

The official representative of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Onju Kecheli, stressed that Yerevan and Ankara are also working to open the land border, which has been closed since the 90s. The construction of the Gyumri-Kars railway is also being discussed.

Read more in the Izvestia article:

Overlooking Ararat: Armenia and Turkey launch bilateral trade