ALLEPO — Humanitarian aid from Armenia has arrived in the Syrian city of Aleppo, according to the Syrian state media SANA.
The aid was officially handed over to Aleppo’s Deputy Governor Fawaz Hilali by Armenia’s Ambassador to Syria, Ruben Kharazyan.
“History shows that the Syrian and Armenian peoples have always shared friendly relations and mutual support. We hope the Syrian people will overcome these challenges and that Syria will flourish once again,” said Ambassador Kharazyan.
Deputy Governor Hilali expressed his gratitude to the Armenian people and the Government of Armenia for sending humanitarian assistance to Syria. He emphasized that the friendship between Armenia and Syria is built on a strong foundation.
The humanitarian cargo sent to Syria includes food and medical supplies aimed at alleviating the effects of war and crisis for the friendly Syrian people.
The aid convoy traveled to Syria through the Margara crossing on the Armenia-Turkey border. For this purpose, the closed Armenia-Turkey border crossing was temporarily opened on March 21 for a period of ten days.
Turkey Denies Unfounded Claims from Azerbaijani Media
The Turkish Presidency’s Directorate of Communications’ Center for Combating Disinformation has refuted reports from some Azerbaijani media outlets claiming that Azerbaijan was not informed about the opening of the Armenia-Turkey border for humanitarian aid delivery to Syria.
“The claim made in certain media outlets under headlines like ‘Unexpected Move from Turkey: Border Opened to Armenians, Baku Kept in the Dark’ does not reflect reality. The Alican (Margara) border crossing was opened solely to facilitate the transit and return of the humanitarian aid convoy from Armenia to Syria.
According to a decision made by the Council of Ministers in 1992, the Alican crossing holds the status of a _temporary border checkpoint_ for humanitarian aid only.
The humanitarian convoy, consisting of four trucks, entered Turkey yesterday through the Alican crossing in Iğdır province and is headed toward Syria via the Hatay/Cilvegözü border checkpoint. The trucks are expected to arrive in Syria by midday tomorrow and will return to Armenia via the same route.
Previously, following the devastating earthquake in Turkey on February 6, 2023, Armenian aid convoys passed through the same crossing twice on separate dates.
Additionally, the Alican checkpoint has been used for mutual pedestrian crossings — most notably during the fifth round of negotiations between the special representatives for the normalization of Armenia-Turkey relations on July 30, 2024.
The crossing also serves for meetings of the Turkey-Armenia Border Commissions on border-related matters. During a meeting on February 24, 2025, Armenia’s intention to deliver humanitarian aid to Syria via Turkish territory was directly communicated by Ambassador Serdar Kılıç to Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to Ankara, Rashad Mammadov, and to Hikmet Hajiyev, Foreign Policy Advisor to the President of Azerbaijan, during their visit to Turkey on February 25.