“Zangazur corridor to be laid regardless of Armenia’s will” Armenians already recognise this

For almost two years Armenia hoped that it would somehow manage to postpone or even ignore the conditions prescribed in paragraph 9 of the trilateral statement [signed by Azerbaijan, Armenia, Russia] dated November 10, 2020, and this hope was futile. Proceeding from paragraph 9 of the statement, all economic and transport ties in the region should be restored, while Armenia guarantees the security of routes between the western districts of Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic for citizens, vehicles to easily move and goods to be transported in both directions. Moreover, the Border Guard Service of the Russian Federal Security Service, rather than representatives of the Armenian corresponding agencies controls the routes.

The Armenian experts and Telegram channels, in particular, "Baghramyan 26", supporting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, reported about the Armenian side’s futile hope to delay the implementation of this item. Baghramyan 26, in particular, called on the Armenian authorities to agree to the opening of the Zangazur corridor as soon as possible.

“Bright facts are revealing ongoing dangerous processes behind the scenes, which may cause a new crisis in the near future,” Baghramyan 26 reports.

Armenia and Azerbaijan are not mentioned in the press release about the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Russia’s Sochi city on August 5, 2022. We (and not only we) reported that the issues related to Karabakh and the restoration of routes were to be discussed at this meeting. The fact that this topic was not mentioned in the press release may show that negotiations and discussions on these issues are underway.

During the conference of ambassadors held in Türkiye’s Ankara city on August 8 and 9, 2022, President Erdogan, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Member of the Turkish National Assembly Binali Yildirim spoke about Armenia, namely, the corridor, while Cavusoglu even threatened Armenia “not to resort to new provocations”.

Azerbaijani President Ilham President Aliyev said on August 12 that he expects to receive Armenia’s answer about the Zangazur Corridor in the coming weeks.

Turkish Deputy Trade Minister announced that Ankara "continues conducting high-level negotiations on the opening of the Zangazur corridor with Russia" on August 18 and he even noted that they expect that the corridor will be opened very soon.

Some Armenian and Azerbaijani media have recently reported that according to the sources, a meeting among President Putin, Prime Minister Pashinyan and President Aliyev may take place in Russia’s Moscow city in late August 2022.

While combining these facts, we come to the conclusion that certain discussions were held following the meeting in Sochi, and some agreements were reached without Armenian side’s participation. Efforts are made to impose these agreements on Yerevan. The process of imposition is accompanied by various distracting statements, for example, that the Armenian authorities allegedly do not properly respond to disinformation spread about an ally, which means that Russia has claims against Armenia.

If the situation is really so hopeless, then the Armenian authorities should agree on a solution with the least losses, even within the “corridor logic”. However, before making such a decision, the authorities are obliged to announce the names of the participants in another deal through Armenia for the public to know exactly who it is actually dealing with.

Armenian political analyst Suren Sahakyan shares the same opinion as the Telegram channel, supporting Pashinyan. Sahakyan told AliQ Media that the Zangazur corridor or road - the name is not so important will be built regardless of Armenia’s will.

He noted that the construction of this road primarily comes from the interests of Russia, which needs access to the West in connection with the imposed sanctions.

Sahakyan also added that this issue will definitely be discussed at the upcoming talks among the Armenian prime minister, the Azerbaijani and Russian presidents.

“Of course, the issue of the corridor will be discussed. Customs checkpoints are already opening, a road is being laid from Azerbaijan to Türkiye. As for our subjectivity, the Armenian borders are protected by Russian border guards and the Russian customs service. Who are we in this case - a subject or an object? If we are the object, then nothing will change in this regard. If the subject can behave as we do, then we will continue to be the subject,” Sahakyan said.