Armenia and Turkiye are set to permanently reopen their land border by this year’s tourist season for the first time in three decades, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan announced on Friday, 24 March.

The border will initially be opened only for citizens of third countries and diplomatic officials. There is already direct air traffic between the two countries.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called for an “immediate” end to the war in Ukraine during a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged to increase the flow of water along the Tigris River to drought-stricken Iraq for one month following a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani, Asharq Al-Awsat reported on Tuesday, 22 March.

Erdogan stated that he was aware of the “urgent need for water” in war-scarred Iraq and that “The issue of water will hopefully be resolved.”

German newspaper Die Welt claims in an opinion piece that Turkey and Hungary should not be trusted within the NATO alliance. The paper writes that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan continues to block Sweden’s NATO accession, and Hungary wants EU money in exchange for approving the membership of both nations.

Turkey’s Ambassador Murat Mercan recently argued in Defense One that “transitioning transatlantic security priorities to an era of great power competition inevitably will necessitate exploring venues of gradual rapprochement between Turkey and the United States.” This could not be further from the truth. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Ankara would approve Finland’s NATO application before the country’s May election. Erdoğan made the announcement after meeting with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto in Ankara.