“The warm winds of change in Turkish-Armenian ties will somehow create a domino effect with positive implications, from the lifting of the blockade on Nakhchivan to the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem,” Hurriyet daily reads.

According to Burcu Gultekin Punsmann (Ankara-based think tank senior analyst), “As a gesture of goodwill, Armenia could lift the blockade on Nakhchivan and allow the restoration of its north-south and east-west connections. This would be a considerable confidence-building measure for the settlement of the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. Even at the worst times in the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh in the 1990s, Nakhchivan was able to protect its territorial integrity. That can be linked with its proximity to Turkey and the guarantees provided by Turkey. Armenian troops stopped on the border of Nakhchivan during the war.”

Asked if the Armenian gesture of lifting the blockade on the autonomous region depends on the opening of the Turkish-Armenian border, she said it would be inaccurate to put forth preconditions to take any step but “such a development could be seen in the context of the Turkish-Armenian rapprochement,” Hurriyet says Nov. 16.