Turkish minister reveals new route for Zangezur Corridor ... if Armenia rejects to allow access

The Zangezur Corridor, should Armenia refuses to participate in the project, may pass through Iran.

The statement came on October 4 from the Turkish Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu in an interview with TRT TV channel.

“The important question is whether the Zangezur Corridor will go through Armenia. From the point of view of real geographical conditions, the Corridor will be beneficial to any of the territories through which it passes. We think Armenia will assess this issue without politically mediated considerations. Otherwise, the alternative will be that the Corridor will pass through the borders of Iran,” Uraloglu said.

The minister noted that, to a large extent, the Zangezur route is already ready, with the exception of some sections of the route.

“There is a route that goes from Baku to the city of Khankendi. After this comes the portion laid by a Turkish company to the border with Armenia. In Nakhchivan, there is a route about 110 km long, and the roads there need to be built. After which the route will go to Kars. There will be 224 km of roads on Turkish territory,” Uraloglu said.

According to him, work will soon begin on the territory of Nakhchivan.

“Within a month, Türkiye will hold a tender for the construction of part of the route on its territory,” the minister stated.

Earlier, President Ilham Aliyev said the transportation Corridor, which will connect Azerbaijan's mainland with the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, will plug into the railway grids of Iran and Türkiye with a further spur into Europe. The Azerbaijan Railways Company (ADY) is currently constructing the Horadiz-Aghband portion of the route to bring the railroad on the conditional Armenia-Azerbaijan border. On October 3, ADY announced the soon-to-be completed part of the Horadiz-Aghband route passing over the Hakari river.

Zangezur Corridor

The construction of the Zangazur Corridor is one of the projects initiated by Azerbaijan following the 2020 war with Armenia. Article 9 of the trilateral agreement signed by Azerbaijan, Russia, and Armenia on November 10, 2020, to end the Second Karabakh War provides for the unblocking of all economic and transport links in the region.

Armenia undertook to guarantee the safety of transport links between the western regions of Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan in order to ensure an unimpeded movement of citizens, vehicles, and goods in both directions.

Nakhchivan became an exclave separated from the Azerbaijani mainland after the Soviet occupation of the South Caucasus region in 1920. Following the region’s incorporation, Soviet rulers inked a decision to transfer some of Azerbaijan's territories, including its historic region of Zangazur, which borders Nakhchivan, to the newly-created Armenian state.

Armenia’s military aggression against Azerbaijan in the early 1990s aggravated Nakhchivan’s isolation. All kinds of energy, electricity, and transport connections, including highways and railway links to Nakhchivan was closed by Armenia. Currently, land connections with Nakhchivan are available via either Iran or Türkiye.

The multi-modal Zangezur Corridor will connect Nakhchivan, a southwestern exclave, with mainland Azerbaijan and further plug into the railway and highway grid of Türkiye.

With its potential to form a part of the global routes, the Zangezur Corridor is expected to contribute to the Eurasian economies with a nominal GDP of $1.1 trillion.

The government of Azerbaijan plans to complete the construction of Azerbaijani section of the route and put it into operation in 2024.

Although the opening of the Zangezur Corridor has significant potential, Armenia strongly opposes its launch. Additionally, the Armenian government has failed to take concrete action towards restoring their section of the Corridor despite its commitments.