Open borders are always better than closed ones - SRC head on  possibility of opening Armenian-Turkish border

ArmInfo.Open borders are always better than closed ones.  Chairman of the State Revenue  Committee of the Republic of Armenia Rustam Badasyan told reporters on November 17, commenting on the possibility of opening the Armenian-Turkish border.

According to the head of the SRC, open borders are always much more  preferable than closed ones, despite the presence of some problems.  At this stage, the possibility of opening the border for the crossing  of goods and persons with diplomatic passports is being discussed.

Badasyan emphasized that the department he heads is conducting  research to assess the pros and cons of opening the border, as well  as possible revenues for the state treasury. "It is still impossible  to talk about the exact amount, even after the completion of the  research, but I will again point out one truth: open borders are  always better than closed ones," the head of the State Revenue  Committee noted, adding that the construction of the "Margara"  checkpoint on the Armenian-Turkish border may be completed next week.  Badasyan noted that the checkpoint is almost ready. "The authorities  monitor the quality of work, closely monitoring costs. We save every  penny of taxpayers and will not allow any abuse," the SRC head  assured, avoiding answering the question about the exact dates of the  opening of the border.

In the spring of 2023, the territory of the checkpoint in the village  of Margara was transferred to the jurisdiction of the State Revenue  Committee of the Republic of Armenia. At the end of May, the  Committee entered into an agreement with Arbak and Sons LLC to  prepare design estimates for the construction of the Margara  checkpoint on the border with Turkey. According to the project, it is  planned to build a one-story service hall, two pavilions for cargo  clearance, two pavilions for rest of the duty shift, a one-story  customs inspection building, parking lots, platforms, internal roads,  two checkpoints and a one- story warehouse.

On October 30, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan from  the  rostrum of  National Assembly expressed the hope that the agreements  on opening the border between Armenia and Turkey will be implemented  in the near future. "I hope that in the near future we will have the  implementation of the agreements reached following the negotiations  of the special representatives, which concerns the following:  the  border between Armenia and Turkey at this stage is opened to citizens  of third countries and holders of diplomatic passports," the Prime  Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said.

He noted that in addition to political agreements, significant  infrastructure work has also been carried out.  "In terms of  re-equipment and restoration, we worked at the checkpoint in Margara,  and in this sense, we are already ready for such developments and  hope that these agreements will be implemented," the Prime Minister  said. Let us recall that Armenia and Turkey have appointed their  special representatives for bilateral relations, who have already  held four meetings. Following the 4th meeting on July 1, 2022 in  Vienna, the parties agreed to ensure the possibility of crossing the  Armenian-Turkish land border as soon as possible for citizens of  third countries visiting Armenia and Turkey, respectively. An  agreement was also reached on the earliest possible start of direct  air transportation of goods between Armenia and Turkey and a decision  was made to begin the necessary processes in this direction.