The ban came into force on December 31, 2020 and was extended by six months in June. Yerevan described it as retaliation for Ankara’s “inflammatory calls,” arms supplies to Azerbaijan and “deployment of terrorist mercenaries to the conflict zone.”
The Armenian Ministry of Economy told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on December 13 that it will likely recommend another six-month extension to the government. However, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s cabinet has adopted no such decisions since then. The cabinet held its last session of the year on Thursday.
In a statement issued later in the day, the Ministry of Economy confirmed that the embargo will no longer be in force starting from January 1. The ministry said this is the result of “interagency discussions” held in recent weeks.
Economy Minister Vahan Kerobian hinted at the impending lifting of the ban when he spoke with journalists on Tuesday. “Political motives will be the overriding ones,” he said.
Armenia and Turkey are due to start soon talks on normalizing bilateral relations. The governments of the two neighboring states appointed special envoys for that purpose earlier this month.
Armenia -- A commercial truck enters Armenia from Georgia through the Gogavan border crossing, November 29, 2018. (Photo by the Armenian State Revenue Committee)
In recent months, Turkish leaders have made statements making the normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations conditional on Armenia agreeing to open a land corridor that would connect Azerbaijan to its Nakhichevan exclave. They have also cited Baku’s demands for a formal Armenian recognition of Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh.
Citing these statements, Armenian opposition leaders have accused Pashinian of being ready to make unilateral concessions to Ankara and Baku. The Armenian Foreign Ministry has insisted that Yerevan continues to stand for “normalizing relations with Turkey without preconditions.”
Turkey has refused to establish diplomatic relations with Armenia and kept the border between the two states closed since the early 1990s out of solidarity with Azerbaijan. It has also banned all imports from Armenia.
Armenia imported (mostly via Georgia) $267 million worth of Turkish-manufactured products in 2019. According to the Ministry of Economy, Turkish imports fell to just $20 million in the first nine months of 2021.
The ministry statement released on Thursday said the ban, which does not cover raw materials, has had both positive and negative effects on the Armenian economy.
“The positive results include a number of newly established or expanded manufacturing businesses in the light industry, construction materials, furniture and agricultural sectors,” it said. “But the main negative consequence of the embargo is its substantial impact on inflation.”