Periodista Digital: Pashinyan hands over Zangezur Corridor to Azerbaijan and US

The Spanish newspaper Periodista Digital has published an article on the geopolitical developments in the South Caucasus. In particular, citing representatives of the Armenian diaspora in France who have contacts within the Armenian government, it presents information about a confidential document entitled Memorandum of Understanding on the Creation of the “Trump Bridge” Transport Corridor, the text of which has “already been approved by Armenia, Azerbaijan and the United States.”

“The document foresees the implementation of a project for a Bilateral Economic Corridor and a regional defence post called the ‘Trump Bridge’. This transport corridor, 42 kilometres long, will pass through the Syunik region (Zangezur – Caliber.Az) of the Republic of Armenia.

The corridor is intended to connect the main territory of Azerbaijan with Nakhchivan. Its creation was one of Azerbaijan’s key demands to Armenia following the 2020 war. The Armenian side had sought to prevent the establishment of this corridor.

According to the memorandum, Armenia retains formal sovereignty over the Syunik region. However, it is stipulated that the transport corridor will be managed by a private American company licensed for this purpose.

The distribution of revenue from operating the corridor reveals the true interests underlying the agreement. The American management company will receive 40% of the income, while Armenia will get 30%.

It is especially noteworthy that the memorandum provides for the deployment of significant American forces on Armenian territory. However, these will not be regular US Army troops but a private military company (PMC) estimated to number around 1,000 personnel.

This PMC will be responsible for security within the corridor. Under the terms of the memorandum, the PMC has the right to maintain security and use force “to preserve its integrity.”

Clearly, the main beneficiaries of the memorandum’s implementation will be the United States and Türkiye. While Türkiye’s benefits are mainly economic, the US, within the framework of its strategic interests, primarily seeks to establish control over the Armenian-Iranian border.

Initially, lightly armed soldiers will be stationed on the border. From a military perspective, however, this means that the buffer zone between Iran and the US — the Islamic Republic’s main adversary — will effectively cease to exist. This creates the risk of a large-scale military conflict in the region, stretching from the Mediterranean to the South Caucasus.

It is important to note that the consequences of signing the memorandum extend far beyond foreign policy.

For France, the increased American presence in Armenia and its effective subordination to the US will constitute a serious diplomatic setback,” the Spanish newspaper writes, among other points.

By Aghakazim Guliyev