President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan during the opening of a power station in Gobu on Feb. 11
President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan on Friday again brought up his scheme to establish the so-called “Zangezur Corridor,” this time touting it as an essential and viable route to export energy to Turkey and Iran.
Since the end of the 2020 Artsakh War, Aliyev has insisted on opening a direct connection between Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan through Armenia. This has become known as the “Zangezur Corridor,” the establishment of which has been mentioned as a precondition by Ankara as it aims to normalize relations with Yerevan. The Armenian government has rejected this “corridor,” but instead has agreed to opening a rail link that extends from Yeraskh to Nakhichevan, Iran, the Syunik Province and into Azerbaijan—all part of the November 9, 2020 agreement that ended the military actions in the war.
Aliyev, on Friday, told the AzerTac news agency, that his plans for the so-called “Zangezur Corridor” extend beyond a road and railway transport link and include the export of energy.
“We have energy links with all four neighboring countries, and now we are working on a new project,” Aliyev told AzerTac. “Now we are planning to build a new line through the ‘Zangezur corridor’ from Azerbaijan to the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic and from there to Turkey and Iran.”
“As I have previously stated, Zangezur corridor is not only for railways, roads and air transport,” Aliyev insisted, adding that his proposed scheme accelerate Azerbaijan’s dominance in the international arena.
“We will have a new line to supply electricity to the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic, which is an inseparable part of Azerbaijan, and from there to foreign markets, and then to Turkey and Europe,” Aliyev said.
“Our increased exports will bolster our geopolitical importance and bring us additional foreign currency. We will earn money not only from oil and natural gas, but also from electricity, and we live prosperous lives in our country,” Aliyev said.
During all discussion on opening transport links between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Russia and other stakeholders have insisted that in advancing this process, the territorial integrity of each country must be respected.