Head of the Turkish Foreign Ministry’s Department of Eurasia Mehmet Fatih Ceylan said that if Turkey does not give its permission to passage of a NATO convoy through its border with Armenia, the NATO exercises due September 11-17 can be canceled.

“In theory, Turkey can refrain from granting its permission and opening the border to allow passage of the required equipment. But there will be exercises of humanitarian relief units and they will not be of a military nature,” noted Ceylan.

According to him, if NATO were going to deliver military-technical equipment through the territory of Turkey to Armenia for the exercises, Ankara would have rejected its permission. “According to the exercises scenario, an earthquake hits Armenia, while NATO forces go there to provide assistance,” said Ceylan, adding that Turkey, as a NATO member, cannot hamper passage of a NATO convoy for similar exercises. However, according to the diplomat, this step does not indicate that Turkey will officially open its border with Armenia, Trend News reported.

The Armenian-Turkish border has been closed since 1995 due to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, in which Turkey supports Azerbaijan.