Despite an agreement reached at the beginning of 2025 between Azerbaijan and Georgia to resume train services between the two countries from May 28, overland travel remains suspended due to Azerbaijan’s closed land borders. There is no information on when these borders might reopen.
Official Reason for the Closure
Azerbaijan closed its land borders with Iran, Russia, Georgia, and Turkey in March 2020 as a quarantine measure in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, this quarantine regime has been extended multiple times and is now scheduled to remain in effect until at least October 1, 2025. However, these restrictions do not apply to cargo transport.
Beyond the Official Reason
Some experts suggest that the closure has also served as a strategic measure for Azerbaijan to enhance security and maintain control over regional dynamics. In April 2024, ahead of COP29, President Ilham Aliyev indicated that while the initial reason for the border closure was COVID-19, it has since transitioned into a primarily security-focused measure. “As President, and someone who monitors national security daily, I can assert that our security has significantly increased since the borders were closed,” Aliyev stated.
During a speech on November 25, 2024, in Azerbaijan’s Milli Majlis (Parliament), Deputy Zahid Oruj linked the ongoing border closures to the Russia-Ukraine war and military operations in Iran. Oruj cautioned that reopening the borders could potentially allow 100,000 migrants into Azerbaijan, posing a threat to political stability.
Challenges for Citizens Traveling To and From Azerbaijan
Bulia Abdulaeva, a 43-year-old woman who married in Baku, used to visit her parents in Georgia’s Bolnisi region two to three times a year before the pandemic. Now, visiting has become a costly affair.
“I can barely manage to go once a year. Even then, I travel alone without my children, as flying is too expensive for the whole family. The promised train hasn’t appeared either, and we were looking forward to it,” Abdulaeva expressed.
The average price for a plane ticket from Azerbaijan to Georgia (via Azerbaijan Airlines) is around $250, while the Georgian side planned to set train ticket prices at 50–70 GEL after restoring services.
Many citizens of both Azerbaijan and Georgia face similar challenges. This situation is particularly pressing for millions of Azerbaijanis residing in Russia and Ukraine who have been unable to return home. The situation became critical in 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine, leaving many Azerbaijani labor migrants stranded at the border.
The Azerbaijan-Georgia route is in high demand among several social groups, particularly Azerbaijani students in Tbilisi, individuals seeking car parts or repairs, and residents of border regions, both ethnic Azerbaijanis and ethnic Georgians holding Azerbaijani passports. The border restrictions impede their ability to visit relatives across the border.
In 2023, Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili raised the issue when she was commenting on restoring direct flights between Russia and Georgia. She emphasized the need to consider Azerbaijani citizens of Georgian descent, stating, “For three years, our compatriots have been unable to come from Hereti because the Lagodekhi-Balakan border has remained closed since COVID. People have to travel a long way to Baku, then fly from there, which is practically beyond the means of most.”
At the beginning of 2025, the Georgian and Azerbaijani authorities announced the planned resumption of train services in May. However, skepticism persists among citizens, given the history of unfulfilled promises. The official closure period due to the “pandemic,” set until October 1, is another date that many Azerbaijani citizens fear might be postponed yet again.