Garo Paylan, the Armenian member of the Turkish parliament, has called on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to reopen the border gates between Turkey and Armenia in order to allow trade that will benefit Turks, Armenians, Kurds, and Azerbaijanis, writes GercekNews.

Paylan visited the Akyaka border gates of Turkey’s Kars Province and said that their opening will benefit not only Turks and Armenians, but also Kurds and Azerbaijanis.

"Azerbaijanis, Armenians, Turks, and Kurds all belong to this region, and unfortunately they have drifted away from each other because of the traumas that we have experienced during the century. Now is the time for them to embrace each other," he said.

"What prevents [re]opening that border?" Paylan asked, adding that everyone, including the Turks living in the region, would lose from closing the border.

In case of reopening, he proposed to name the gates after the late Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who was killed by an extreme Turkish nationalist 16 years ago in Istanbul because Dink was one of those who campaigned the most for the reopening of the Turkey-Armenia border.