Azerbaijan has lifted all restrictions on cargo transit to Armenia, in yet another sign of normalizing ties after nearly four decades of conflict. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev announced the decision to lift cargo restrictions during a press conference with his Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Astana on October 21.
Aliyev said the shipment of Kazakh grain to Armenia was the first such consignment since transit was suspended after the war broke between the two post Soviet countries in the early 1990s. “I believe this is a clear indication that peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia exists not only on paper but also in practice,” Aliyev stressed.
Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmat Hajiyev later clarified in an interview with Reuters that the cargo shipment to Armenia would travel through Georgia, describing the transit “an economic benefit of peace”.
Armenia welcomed Aliyev’s announcement of lifting the ban on transit of goods to Armenia, with Nazeli Baghdasaryan, spokesperson for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan describing the move as holding “significant importance for the opening of regional connectivity, strengthening mutual trust, and institutionalizing peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan, in line with the agreements reached in Washington.
The developments follow the signing of the US-brokered peace declaration in Washington on August 8. The agreement signed by Aliyev and Pashinyan in the presence of US President Donald Trump paved the way for the transit and trade route under the framework of the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) initiative.
Armenian Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan said on October 21 that the first transit shipment through Azerbaijani territory is expected to reach Armenia soon. “The first batch of Kazakh wheat will enter Armenia via the Aktau–Baku route, followed by transit through Azerbaijani and Georgian railways. Peace has been established,” Papoyan said in a statement.
In another move to unblock regional transit connectivity, representatives from Armenia and Turkey will hold a meeting to discuss the restoration of the Gyumri-Kars railway. “An interdepartmental meeting on the restoration and relaunch of the Gyumri-Kars railway will take place in the near future. Further details will be provided afterward,” Vice Speaker of Parliament Ruben Rubinyan, Armenia’s Special Representative for Normalization with Türkiye Ruben Rubinyan said.
Earlier in September, Rubinyan met with his Turkish counterpart Serdar Kılıç in Yerevan, where both sides agreed that relevant authorities would conduct technical studies for reopening the Gyumri–Kars railway and the electricity interconnector.
