Russia's FSB building Zangazur corridor through Armenia Analytics from Vestnik Kavkaza

The Zangazur transport corridor is the newest international route designed to connect Russia with Armenia and Türkiye via uninterrupted transportation by cars and railway, an alternative to the unstable mountain route through Georgia and the recently commissioned, but already loaded with interregional transportation, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway. It passes through Azerbaijan as the BTK. Baku is laying new railway lines from the existing transport infrastructure and a highway along the territories liberated two years ago to the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. The Zangazur corridor will de facto restore the old Soviet route along the Araz River separating Azerbaijan and Armenia from Iran, therefore, from a technical point of view, there are no problems in its construction. Caliber.Az reprints the article published by Vestnik Kavkaza.

There are no problems with the motivation of project participants in its implementation. Azerbaijan receives the shortest stable land route (by road and railway) with its Nakhchivan exclave. During the Karabakh war, one could reach Nakhchivan by air or via a very long detour through neighbouring countries.

Azerbaijan also acquires a new route to Türkiye with the lowest transit fee. The Armenian section of the Zangazur corridor is only 30 kilometres, while the Georgian section of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars is 246 kilometres. While connecting to the transport system of Nakhchivan, Armenia opens the railway route with Iran, which existed during the period of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and also greatly simplifies cargo transportation to Russia, which will not depend on the weather in the Georgian Military Highway.

Iran will be able to send goods by railway to both Armenia and Türkiye. Türkiye will strengthen its position as a macro-regional transport hub connecting East and West, as trans-Caspian shipments, including Chinese and Indian goods, will be transported through the second direction via Turkish territory.

Finally, Russia, which has assumed responsibility for controlling traffic along the Zangazur corridor in the Armenian sector, will receive a quick and regular route to Armenia, Nakhchivan, and Türkiye.

When Europe closes traditional routes for the supply of goods from Russia, the expansion of the number of alternatives is of particular importance for Russian exporters, and the routes of the South Caucasus give them the opportunity not to be constrained in the transport blockade.

However, there is still one problem with the Zangazur corridor. This is a political problem from the Armenian side. By signing the tripartite agreement (with Russia and Azerbaijan) to end the Karabakh war on November 9-10, 2020, Armenia launched a campaign to revise this document announcing the capitulation of Yerevan in a thirty-year military confrontation with Baku.

Some points of the agreement were turned by the Armenian leadership into a pretext for bargaining with both Russian and Azerbaijani authorities, while others were not simply implemented.

Clause 9 on the restoration of transport communications and laying roads from the Zangilan district of Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan through the Syunik region of Armenia was not an exception. The text is as follows:

“All economic and transport ties in the region are being restored. Armenia guarantees the security of transportation between the western districts of Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic for the unhindered movement of citizens, vehicles and goods in both directions. The Border Guard Service of the Russian Federal Security Service controls transportation. Proceeding from the agreement of the sides, the new transport routes connecting the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic with the western districts of Azerbaijan will be built,” the text says.

Immediately after the defeat on the battlefield, Armenia was struggling for power in the post-war era. No changes on this point from the Armenian side were expected until July 2021.

However, when the Civil Contract, the party of current Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, won the snap elections, inflicting a heavy blow on the nationalist supporters of a new war with Baku, it turned out that even with the mandate for peace in the region received from the population, the authorities were not going to fulfil obligations to Russia and Azerbaijan.

First of all, Yerevan refused from unhindered transportation from Zangilan to Nakhchivan on its territory and demanded the installation of customs checkpoints on both sides of the thirty-kilometre Armenian section of the Zangazur corridor, and then began to demand that the movement in this section should be controlled by Armenian special services rather than the Russian border guards.

The nationalist opposition during that period tried to spread the panic among the population that the Zangazur corridor would “cut off Armenia from Iran”, and generally called for the complete sabotage of the tripartite agreement and maintaining the transport blockade of their country. The revanchist and isolationist slogans of the nationalists did not gain popularity among the Armenian citizens, however, they gave Yerevan additional leverage to slow down the peaceful post-war processes.

As a result, to date, Azerbaijan has built its 110-kilometre section of the railway line of the Zangazur corridor (liberated Fuzuli, Jabrayil and Zangilan Districts) by 50 per cent, the highway - by 35 per cent, while the Armenian side did not lay a single rail, the highway has not even been agreed upon, although the old Soviet road has not disappeared and it is necessary to restore it.

It would seem that Armenia should do little to gain a long-awaited railway route to Iran and strong transport ties with Russia, but politics in Yerevan continues to prevail over common sense.

Fortunately, not only Azerbaijan and Armenia, but also Russia are involved in the Zangazur corridor project. Russia will likely build the Armenian section of the railway line, similar to the Iranian section of the North-South international transport corridor. The fact that the Russian Railways company’s subsidiary operates the Armenian railway system gives confidence to this forecast.

According to the trilateral agreement, Russia undertook to control the transportation of goods and passengers in this section. This is motivated not only by Moscow's mediation in the post-war settlement of relations between Yerevan and Baku, but also by the fact that employees of the Border Guard Service of the Federal Security Service have been working in this section for many years. Minimal efforts will be required for Russia to organise control as our special services have already gained relevant experience.

There is a little-known fact, but Russian border guards have been guarding the border of Armenia with Iran, as well as the border of Armenia with Türkiye since 1992, when the Russian Federation and the Republic of Armenia signed an agreement on the status of the Border Troops of the Russian Federation located on the territory of the Republic of Armenia and conditions for their operation.

In case of necessity, they can establish additional checkpoints in the border area to fulfil their duties, and the roads of the Zangazur corridor will pass here.

For this reason, along with the control of the Russian railways over the Armenian railways, the Armenian section of the corridor may be laid without Armenia.

Perhaps this is the ultimate goal of Yerevan's bargaining with Baku and Moscow to do nothing and not to bear responsibility for anything by receiving payment for the transit of goods.

Nevertheless, Armenia continues opposing the idea of the Zangazur corridor even when others do everything for its implementation. So, panic has been recently ignited in the Armenian media and telegram channels around the installation of an additional checkpoint on the Meghri-Agarak road, connecting the only Iran-Armenia customs checkpoint with the biggest settlement in southern Armenia, by Russian border guards.

The Federal Security Service took this step for one reason as Azerbaijan established tight control over the border of the liberated districts with Iran. Both drug trafficking and terrorists’ attempts to penetrate the Armenian-Iranian border increased.

Drug dealers and members of terrorist groups, who travelled to Armenia through the unguarded occupied Azerbaijani lands until autumn 2020, are now forced to look for other routes, and Russian border guards naturally step up their work in accordance with the interstate agreement.

The Federal Security Service responded to professional alarmists’ accusations of “occupation of Armenia” that checkpoints are established upon the law and in agreement with the Armenian government and the National Security Service, and a number of checkpoints, rather than one checkpoint, will be installed.

It is clear why this event, which is quite common for guarding the Armenian border by Russian border guards, is used as a pretext for an anti-Russian campaign. Those opposing opening routes with Azerbaijan thought about preparation for the opening of the Zangazur corridor.

Indeed, Federal Security Service officers are now serving not only on the banks of the Araz River, but also on the road leading to Meghri, the main transit point on the Armenian section of the interregional route. They inspect any cars, including those with Armenian registration plates, while no one except them can inspect, for example, cars with Azerbaijani registration plates.

The bodies of the Border Guard Service of the Russian Federal Security Service must control this transport route upon the ninth paragraph of the trilateral agreement for the “unhindered transportation of citizens, vehicles and goods” between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

It is quite possible that the system of checkpoints will be preserved in the future for the highways of the Zangazur corridor as the Meghri-Agarak road is its natural part.

Opponents of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan became so alarmed that they even began to call on those passing through checkpoints not to show documents in response to the legitimate demands of border guards and to resist checks.

The revenge-seekers see that Russia is controlling the issue of unblocking Armenia, and they are trying to set at least someone against it, they demand that citizens should not obey the Armenian laws.

However, the same political losers who were unable to remove Pashinyan after he signed the document on capitulation are trying to make a storm in a teacup.

Of course, they will continue resisting the natural processes of the Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement, and they will try to resist Russian efforts as much as those of Azerbaijan and Türkiye. That’s why Armenia urges to break off relations with Russia today.

However, the possibilities of revanchists are sharply limited. The population does not support them, they cannot offer an alternative to peace in the South Caucasus and they are practically deprived of power. They are just creating chaos in the media and social networks and from time to time arrange provocations.

Meanwhile, the Zangazur corridor process is under completion, because so many major players are interested in its launch.