Armenia's European Path Runs Through Turkey and Azerbaijan, Report Says

Plans are being revived for rail service between the Armenian city of Gyumri and Kars in Turkey, according to a report in Der Freitag. The article argues that Azerbaijan holds decisive influence over any rapprochement between Armenia and Turkey. Gyumri's main railway station still retains traces of its former grandeur: sunlight passes through a colored dome onto a large chandelier, illuminating the monumental hall. Yet only a few tourists wander toward the platforms as a tinny loudspeaker voice announces the next train, after which silence returns; the lone open ticket counter is staffed by an employee idly playing with her phone. Of Gyumri's former role as a hub on the rail line linking Kars in Turkey with Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, nothing remains beyond the ornate reception building. When the line was completed in 1899, all of these cities belonged to the Tsarist Empire. The report frames the question of Armenia's orientation toward Europe as one that necessarily passes through the regional power Turkey.