Azerbaijan and Turkey plan to unite the Turkic world by re-opening a trade corridor connecting Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan enclave through Armenia, Azeri President İlham Aliyev said.
"Both Turkey and Azerbaijan will take necessary steps for realisation of the Zangezur Corridor," Aliyev said at a joint news conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency reported. He spoke after an opening ceremony for the Fuzuli International Airport in Nagorno-Karabakh.
A November ceasefire agreement ending a 44-day war between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh foresees the re-opening of key historical transportation lines between Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia. Following the deal, Aliyev called on Armenia to open the Zangezur Corridor, which would link Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan, an autonomous western Azeri region separated from the country by Armenian territory.
"One day, we will be able to travel (directly) from Zangezur to Istanbul, cementing the region's position as a transit and logistics hub," Erdoğan said at the news conference.
Azerbaijan has blocked shipments of materials to both Armenia and Karabakh since 1989, while Armenia has imposed a blockade on Nakhchivan.
Relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan are at an historic peak following last autumn’s six weeks of clashes in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. Turkish military support proved crucial to Azerbaijan reclaiming control over the territory from Armenian-backed forces.
This week, Erdoğan paid a third visit to Azerbaijan since last year’s war. On a visit to Azerbaijan in June, Erdoğan and Aliyev signed the Shusha Declaration, which foresaw an expansion of political, economic and defence ties between the countries.