‘The Week of the Zangezur corridor’

What did Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan sign in Washington on August 8? The official announcement includes the preliminary signing of a “peace treaty” with Azerbaijan, a request to the OSCE to dissolve the Minsk Group, and a Joint Declaration between the United States, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, in which Armenia has committed to working with the United States and third parties to establish a framework for the Trump International Peace and Prosperity Project (TRIPP) on its territory.

However, concerns have emerged even within the ruling Civil Contract faction. On October 1, Hraparak newspaper reported that the Azerbaijani president’s statements about the “Zangezur corridor” and Armenia’s surrender had caused confusion even within the ruling team. Some suspect that a different document may have been signed between Armenia and Azerbaijan and that Aliyev allowed Pashinyan to present it as a peace agreement for use in his election campaign.

Further doubts within Pashinyan’s team were fueled by the corridor issue being raised at a PACE meeting and by US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright’s use of the term “corridor.” Even members of Pashinyan’s own team are beginning to suspect that the corridor may have been handed over during his visit to the United States.

In general, the last seven days can be called the “The Week of the Zangezur corridor,” as this project was also addressed by Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloglu, who stated at the 8th Meeting of Ministers of Transport of the Organization of Turkic States that the corridor will provide direct land communication between Turkey and Azerbaijan and will be an important step that will unite the entire Turkic world.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to hide the fact that Pashinyan surrendered the corridor on August 8. This, in turn, means that there should be no doubt that if Pashinyan is re-elected, he will first surrender the corridor. The opposition should convey this message to the voters and propose an alternative framework for regional connectivity—one that includes other key players such as Russia and Iran in development and investment efforts. This could reduce the conflict potential of the project and alleviate tensions between the countries, preventing Armenia from becoming a staging ground for a regional war.

Think about it…