Aliyev: US Building Zangazur Corridor; Iran-Armenia Border Remains Open
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev told Al Arabiya that the Zangazur corridor does not threaten Iran,citing the clear position of Iranian Deputy Speaker Masoud Pezeshkian,who stated,”The Zangazur corridor does not represent a threat against Iran.” The corridor-named after former U.S. President Donald Trump-is a strategic project aimed at unifying Azerbaijani territories and strengthening the country’s regional standing in the Caucasus.
Aliyev rejected claims circulating in some media that Azerbaijan plans to occupy Zangazur or sever land borders between Iran and Armenia as outright fabrications. “We have no such intentions,” he said. “If we had wanted to do so, it would have been easy back in November 2020 or within the past five years. The distance is only 40 kilometers and could be quickly controlled by military means-but we did not because we are not an aggressor country; we are a liberating one. Our war was one of liberation on Azerbaijani soil-a war for justice-not an act of aggression against others. Therefore, these allegations about cutting off Iran-Armenia land borders are baseless.”
He added that after former U.S. President Donald Trump attached his name to the Zangazur corridor project, he became confident it would be implemented soon. Building physical infrastructure like railroads should take little time given the short distance of just 42 kilometers. “If required, we could complete it within a year,” Aliyev said. For Armenia, though, it may take longer due to less experience with railway construction. No final decision has been made yet, but American investors might undertake its development.
Regarding the peace agreement with Armenia,Aliyev said it would be officially ratified after constitutional reforms in Armenia are completed.He emphasized that Armenia must honor this agreement; or else, dangerous tensions will arise again as currently power balances favor Azerbaijan.
