Iran is very well aware of importance of ‘Zangezur corridor’ — Karen Igityan

Azerbaijan will do everything to ensure that the “Zangezur corridor” is controlled by a third country rather than by Armenians, Caucasus expert Karen Igityan told Alpha News.

“Nikol Pashinyan agreed to provide the so-called ‘Zangezur corridor’, which will function. This is evidenced by the fact that Pashinyan signed a document on November 10, which states that this route will pass through the territory of Armenia. In addition, Pashinyan’s political team has repeatedly stated that it does not see a problem in this. There are also many leaks from former employees who worked under Pashinyan, and we have an idea of what they are negotiating. Now the negotiations are underway that the corridor will pass through the Armenian territory and will be controlled by a private organization. By ‘private’ we mean a Western private organization.

Western experts also directly say that Armenia has long agreed, and the only problem is Iran’s position. Today, we must understand one thing: Azerbaijan demands that Armenia not control the ‘Zangezur corridor’. It could be anyone: Russians or Europeans, as long as not Armenians. Why does Aliyev say this? Because he is well aware that if Armenians are deprived of control over Armenian territory, he will be able to oust the third party, as he did in the case of the Russian peacekeepers,” Igityan said.

Speaking about Iran’s position regarding the corridor, the Caucasus expert noted that Iran is very well aware of the importance of this corridor and considers it a NATO-Turan project.

“If Iran agrees and makes a big deal with the West, Azerbaijan and Turkey will have a chance to implement this plan. Another thing is that Iran understands that the sanctions can be either lifted or reinstated the next day and applied further. And if the territory ends up under the control of Turks, it will belong to them. Iran understands this very well, and as important as it is for us, it is no less important for Iran to have a border with Armenia.

As we mentioned, if Armenia does not fight for its territory, others will not do it either. I think that if the hostilities are not in the direction of Meghri, then Iran’s tools will be very limited. That is, they will have to go through the territory of Armenia, but will Armenia invite them? I think not. Here the Armenian government is leading the country to a dead end, where Armenia will ultimately be left alone. And to what extent the Armenian state is capable of resisting under the current government is a very big question,” Karen Igityan concluded.