‘Now that Trump has given his name to the ‘Zangezur corridor,’ it will be implemented soon’ – Aliyev

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, in an interview with Al Arabiya, stated that US President Donald Trump accepted their concerns regarding the so-called “Zangezur corridor” with the “proper attitude.”

“During these almost five years of negotiations, Armenia did not demonstrate a constructive approach with respect to our demands or legitimate requests. So when President Trump and his team started to be involved in the process and wanted to facilitate, our message to them was: without the Zangezur corridor being operational and safe, so that Azerbaijani citizens can travel safely along this 40-plus-kilometer route, there must be strong security guarantees — international security guarantees. Only security guarantees from Armenia alone will not be enough.

So Trump’s administration accepted this legitimate concern with the proper attitude, and that’s how it turned into TRIPP — Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity. So now, when President Trump gave his name to the Zangezur corridor, I’m sure that it will materialize very soon. From the point of building the physical infrastructure, I mean the railroad, it should not take a long time, because it is only 42 kilometers. If we were to build it ourselves, we would have done it in one year. Maybe for Armenia it will take a few more years, because we have more experience in building railroads,” he said.

Aliyev also stated that negotiations with Armenia lasted several years and concluded in Washington with active support from President Trump and his team.

“I believe this is truly the end of the conflict, the end of the war. A formal peace agreement has not been signed for one specific reason: Armenia’s Constitution still contains a provision that questions Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity,”