Russian security chief sees no competition between Zangezur, North–South corridors

The Zangezur Corridor and the North–South Transport Corridor will not compete with each other, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu told journalists following the 13th meeting of CIS security council secretaries.

“I believe both routes not only have the right to exist, but are necessary — for Azerbaijan to be connected with its regions and for trade corridors to emerge between countries,” TASS quotes Shoigu as saying.

He recalled that the North–South Corridor links the ports of the far south to the Arctic Ocean and the Northern Sea Route.

“I see nothing wrong with that, and there’s no competition — no one is bypassing anyone,” Shoigu added, emphasising that Russia is a vast country with a highly developed transport network, and “any new road is always a good thing,” Shoigu added.

In his remarks, Shoigu also highlighted Moscow’s significant role in normalising relations between Yerevan and Baku, underscoring that Russia has made continuous efforts to stabilise the situation in the South Caucasus.

“The contribution of Russia to the settlement of relations — which are still not fully resolved — between Armenia and Azerbaijan is substantial. Throughout this time, Russia has done everything possible to ensure that the situation there becomes more stable and that peace eventually takes hold,” he said.

According to Shoigu, the situation in the South Caucasus has become much more stable thanks in large part to the efforts of countries involved in the process — primarily Russia.

He also noted with irony that “many might get the impression that the United States is the only country that has managed to settle eight or nine conflicts around the world,” referring to U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent claim that he resolved eight conflicts within his first eight months in office.

By Khagan Isayev