ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey removed a restriction on direct trade with Armenia on Wednesday in a symbolic gesture toward improved ties between the longtime rivals.

Turkey and Armenia have no formal relations and their joint border has been closed since the 1990s. Relations between the neighbors have been strained over historic grievances and Turkey’s alliance with Azerbaijan.

Armenia and Turkey agreed in late 2021 to work toward improving the relationship and appointed special envoys to discuss ways to reconcile and open the border. The efforts have resulted in the resumption of direct flights between the two countries and the easing of some visa restrictions.

Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Oncu Keceli said Wednesday on social media platform X that technical and bureaucratic work aimed at opening the shared border was continuing.

Under a new arrangement, shipments of goods from Turkey or Armenia through a third country may now directly list their final destination or point of origin as Turkey or Armenia, lifting a prior restriction on such designations, Keceli said.

“In the light of the historic opportunity seized to strengthen lasting peace and prosperity in the South Caucasus, Türkiye will continue to contribute to the development of economic relations in the region and to further advancing cooperation for the benefit of all countries and peoples of the region,” Keceli wrote, using the government’s preferred spelling for Turkey.

Armenia welcomed the move.

“We would like to emphasize that this is an important step toward the establishment of full and normalized relations between the two countries, which could logically continue through the opening of the Armenia-Turkey border and the establishment of diplomatic relations,” Armenian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ani Badalyan said on X.

Turkey, a close ally of Azerbaijan, shut down its border with Armenia in 1993 in a show of solidarity with Baku, which was locked in a conflict with Armenia over Karabakh, a region internationally known as Nagorno-Karabakh.

In 2020, Turkey strongly backed Azerbaijan in its six-week conflict with ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia over Karabakh, which resulted in Azerbaijan regaining control of a significant part of the region and areas around it. Azerbaijan used Turkish military equipment in the conflict, including combat drones.

Turkey and Armenia also have a long and bitter relationship over the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians in massacres, deportations and forced marches that began in 1915 in Ottoman Turkey.

Historians widely view the event as genocide. Turkey vehemently rejects the label, conceding many died in that era but insisting the death toll is inflated and the deaths resulted from civil unrest.

DORAL, Fla. (AP) — Alex Fitzpatrick thought he’d be playing in Turkey this week. Being near the top of the leaderboard at Doral is a fine change of plans.

A week removed from teaming with his brother Matt and winning the Zurich Classic — a victory that earned him membership on the PGA Tour — Fitzpatrick remained hot Friday. He shot a bogey-free round of 6-under 66, getting to 6 under at the midpoint of the Cadillac Championship at Trump International Doral.

It’s not something he expected a few months ago. Or even a few days ago, really.

“The text messages and stuff has slowed down, but the overwhelming feeling of like joy and happiness is yet to go away,” Fitzpatrick said. “I think for me, this year, it’s going to be a whirlwind and no matter what happens it will be a success. I can’t believe how many people have come up to me and congratulated me … players and caddies and staff. It’s been incredible.”

Fitzpatrick had a ticket for a Sunday night flight that would have taken him from New Orleans to Turkey for this week’s stop on the DP World Tour, then changed those arrangements in a hurry to get to Miami and begin prepping for his first $20 million signature event.

He’s called this week “the first day of school” as he gets a real taste of life on the PGA Tour.

So far, the report card has been just fine. He got through a five-birdie, five-bogey roller-coaster to shoot an even-par 72 on Thursday, then had the six-birdie, no-bogey day on Friday.

“I think the nice thing is it feels like I’m doing the right things with my golf game. I’m working towards the right things,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s exciting. I feel like my game has been good for a while now. I think for a few months it didn’t really translate on the golf course how I would have liked, but it’s really taken a turn the past two months. I feel in control of my ball, which is nice. So, hopefully I keep hitting fairways and hitting greens and we’ll see what happens this weekend.”

___

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish authorities detained over 500 May Day demonstrators on Friday for attempting to march in areas declared off-limits.

Protests marking International Workers’ Day, a national holiday in Turkey, are frequently marred by clashes with authorities, which have declared Istanbul’s central Taksim Square a no-go area for protesters on security grounds. More than 30 people were killed in violence at the square during May Day protests in 1977.

On Friday, small groups of protesters kept popping up around Taksim Square, attempting to breach the police blockade, holding union banners and chanting for the square to be reopened.

The main gathering point was the nearby Mecidiyekoy district, where hundreds of participants were met with water cannons and pepper spray before being detained.

The detentions come a day after Turkey’s top Constitutional Court ruled that three people who were detained for 58 days in 2024 on May Day had their right to peaceful assembly violated, setting a precedent for May Day protests.

The Istanbul governor’s office said that the public had been informed of the safety precautions beforehand. “Certain marginal groups dismissed the precautions, and clashed with police officers as they do every year,” it said, adding that 575 people were detained by 6 p.m. Friday.

IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — A peace initiative to end a decades-long conflict with Kurdish militants has been effectively “frozen” by the Turkish government, a top militant commander said on Thursday.

He and another officials with the group accused Ankara of failing to enact legal and political reforms needed to move the process forward, contradicting recent optimistic statements by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Murat Karayilan, a co-founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and one of its most senior leaders, said in an interview with the PKK-linked ANF news outlet that his group had taken major steps as part of the peace effort, including declaring a ceasefire and an end to its armed struggle.

“The process is currently frozen. That’s what we’ve been able to see and what has been reported to us,” the outlet quoted Karayilan as saying. “We, as a movement, have fulfilled our responsibilities at this stage. It is clear that we have done everything necessary for the government to take action.”

There was no immediate reaction from officials in Turkey to Karayilan’s remarks.

Last year, the PKK declared that it would disarm and disband as part of the new peace effort with Turkey, following a call by its imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan. The PKK then staged a symbolic disarmament ceremony in northern Iraq, and later announced that it was withdrawing fighters from some key locations in Turkey to Iraq.

Earlier this year, a Turkish parliamentary committee recommended a series of reforms to advance the initiative, including the reintegration of PKK members who renounce violence, while stressing that legal steps should be tied to state security institutions verifying that the group has surrendered its weapons.

Karayilan said that Turkish government and ruling party officials had set April as the month in which legislation advancing the process would be brought to parliament, a deadline that has now passed with no bill introduced.

He accused the Turkish government of failing to implement even basic measures recommended by the committee, including releasing opposition politicians and activists from prison.

Ocalan himself also remains imprisoned. Karayilan said that the PKK’s decision at its 12th Congress to end its armed struggle and dissolve itself was approved on the condition that Ocalan personally manage the disarmament process, meaning, he said, that the group’s own internal mandate can’t move forward while its leader remains in prison.

In a separate statement to The Associated Press, Zagros Hiwa, spokesperson for the Kurdistan Communities Union, a political organization linked with the PKK, said that the organization had taken several steps in line with Ocalan’s call. But Hiwa said that Turkish forces continue to operate in parts of northern Iraq, government-appointed administrators still occupy the seats of elected Kurdish mayors in Turkey and that thousands of Kurdish and Turkish political prisoners remain jailed.

“The Turkish state has taken no legal and political steps towards peace and has been continuing war-time policies under new rhetoric,” he said, adding that Ocalan remains under solitary confinement on Imrali island off Istanbul, where he has been imprisoned since his capture in 1999.

Hiwa accused the Turkish government of “instrumentalizing” the process to consolidate the governing party’s grip on power and boost its standing in upcoming elections, rather than seeking a genuine settlement.

“What happens next totally depends on the attitudes of the Turkish state,” Hiwa said. He warned that the impasse could carry “precarious implications.”

The PKK officials’ suggestion that the peace process has stalled contradicted a statement by Erdogan, who a day earlier told legislators from his governing party, that the peace efforts were moving in a positive atmosphere.

“The process is proceeding as it should,” Erdogan said. “Those who write pessimistic scenarios about the process are acting entirely on their delusions, not on facts.

The PKK has waged an armed insurgency since 1984, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives and spilled into neighboring Iraq and Syria. It’s designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

The group initially sought an independent Kurdish state but later shifted to demands for autonomy and expanded rights in Turkey.

___

Suzan Fraser contributed to this report from Ankara, Turkey.

ISTANBUL (AP) — Officials and visitors from Australia, New Zealand and Turkey gathered in northwest Turkey on Saturday to commemorate the 111th anniversary of the Battle of Gallipoli.

The solemn ceremony began at 5:30 a.m. local time near a beach where the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, or Anzacs, first landed at Gallipoli at dawn on April 25, 1915.

The hour-long event included mournful hymns, prayers and the laying of wreaths by the participants, which included representatives from many countries around the world.

The Gallipoli campaign, part of a British-led effort to defeat the Ottoman Empire, ultimately failed, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides during the eight-month conflict. It aimed to secure a naval route from the Mediterranean Sea to Istanbul through the Dardanelles, and knock the Ottomans out of the war.

The battle helped forge Australia and New Zealand’s national identities as well as friendship with their former adversary, Turkey.

“From great suffering, understanding can grow. From former enemies, friendships can blossom. The relationship between Turkey, Australia and New Zealand is built on remembrance, respect and recognition of our shared humanity,” said Governor-General of New Zealand Dame Cindy Kiro during the opening address.

Turkish Col. Fatih Cansiz read from the tribute Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk made in 1934 for the fallen: “Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives … you are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side in this country of ours.”

Ataturk first rose to prominence as commander of the Turkish forces at Gallipoli, then went on to lead Turkey’s War of Independence and ultimately found the Turkish Republic.

ISTANBUL (AP) — The Turkish Grand Prix is back on the Formula 1 calendar next season for the first time since 2021, on a five-year agreement.

After an initial announcement Friday by the Turkish government and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, there was confirmation from F1 and its governing body.

Erdogan said the deal would be for “at least five years”.

The Istanbul Park circuit outside the city first hosted F1 from 2005 through 2011, and next year’s race would be the first since Turkey returned to the calendar in 2020 and 2021 during disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Valtteri Bottas won the most recent race for Mercedes.

“Many memorable moments have been made in our sport’s history at Istanbul Park and I’m excited to begin the next chapter of our partnership, giving fans the opportunity to experience even more incredible racing in a truly fantastic location,” Formula 1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali said.

Hosting F1 would “demonstrate to the world that our country is the safe haven of its region,” Erdogan said.

The news comes after the Iran war caused widespread disruption to sports in the region and forced F1 to call off races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia scheduled for this month.

That left a large gap in this year’s schedule. The Miami Grand Prix next week will be the first F1 race since the Japanese Grand Prix on March 29.

F1’s return to Istanbul had been widely expected since Domenicali said in February that it was a candidate to return.

He added venues like Istanbul Park and the Portimão circuit, which will host the returning Portuguese Grand Prix next year, show F1 is not focusing too much on street races in glamorous locations.

Those can be some of F1’s most lucrative events, like the Las Vegas Grand Prix, but are generally less popular with drivers than purpose-built race tracks.

“Turkey is not 100% confirmed. Stay tuned on Turkey, let me put it this way,” Domenicali said at the time. “This is also to answer to the people that were saying there were too many street races. The new ones that are coming are tracks, not street races.”

The return of Turkey and Portugal next year will come as the Dutch Grand Prix, four-time champion Max Verstappen’s home race, leaves the schedule after six years. The Belgian Grand Prix and the second Spanish race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya will host in alternate years from 2027, freeing up another slot.

F1 estimated Friday it has 19 million fans in Turkey, and FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem called the race’s return “a powerful reflection of the continued global growth and appeal of our sport.”

The Istanbul Park track was generally popular with drivers and its long, high-speed turn eight was often ranked as one of the most challenging corners in the world.

Felipe Massa is the most successful driver at the Turkish Grand Prix with three wins in a row for Ferrari from 2006 through 2008, while Lewis Hamilton has won the race twice.

___

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing