On January 1, Turkey lifted the ban on direct air cargo transportation to Armenia. Vahan Hunanyan, the Press Secretary of the Armenian Foreign Ministry, confirmed this information.

He recalled that the establishment of cargo transportation was one of the agreements reached during the July meeting between the special representatives of Armenia and Turkey. "Indeed, the Turkish side informed us today that the ban on direct air cargo transportation has been lifted. We would like to remind that commencing of direct air cargo transportation between Armenia and Turkey was one of the agreements reached at the meeting of special representatives on July 1, 2022. We expect that the other agreement - ensuring the possibility to cross the land border for citizens of third countries, will also be implemented as soon as possible," Hunanyan said.

"We, of course, positively assess Turkey's lifting of the ban on direct air cargo transportation. Armenia, as before, will constructively continue negotiations both on another agreement reached by the special envoys on July 1 to ensure the possibility of crossing the land border for citizens of third countries as soon as possible, and on the full settlement of Armenia-Turkey relations, that is, the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries and the opening of the Armenian-Turkish border," Hunanyan noted.

Notably, this ban was introduced by Ankara back in the 1990s in connection with the Karabakh conflict. At the same time, the land border between the two countries was also closed. Turkey and Armenia resumed direct passenger flights after a two-year break early in 2022. Imported goods from Turkey are common in Armenia, making up 5% of Armenian imports in 2019 and amounting to $260 million.