EU welcomes meeting of Armenia-Turkey Joint Working Group on Railway  Cooperation

ArmInfo.  The EU welcomed the meeting of the Armenia-Turkey Joint Working Group on the restoration and re-operation of the Gyumri-Kars railway.

"We warmly welcome the meeting of the Armenia-Turkey Joint Working  Group on the restoration and re- operation of the Gyumri-Kars  railway. The European Union fully supports this important new step in  developing connectivity in the region and towards full normalization  between Armenia and Turkey," wrote Magdalena Grono, EU Special  Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia, on  her Twitter account (X).

The EU Special Representative accompanied her post with a link to a  statement from the Armenian Foreign Ministry on the meeting. The  Armenian Foreign Ministry reported that a meeting of the  Armenian-Turkish joint working group on the restoration and operation  of the Gyumri-Kars railway was held in Kars on April 28. It was noted  that the meeting was held in accordance with the agreements reached  as part of the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations. The  Armenian Foreign Ministry added that, in the context of expanding  transport links in the region, the parties emphasized the importance  of the speedy commissioning of the Gyumri-Kars railway.

The then-Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced the  launch of the normalization process between Armenia and Turkey on  December 13, 2021. He also emphasized that Ankara would act in  coordination with Azerbaijan regarding steps to normalize relations  with Armenia. The parties appointed special representatives of Turkey  and Armenia for the normalization process, Serdar K?l?c and Ruben  Rubinyan, who have already held several rounds of negotiations, but  have not yet achieved any breakthroughs, other than the launch of air  cargo and passenger services.