Iran expressed its disagreement with plans to create a transport corridor between Azerbaijan and its exclave of Nakhchivan through Armenian territory on Sunday.
Ali Akbar Velayati, an adviser to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, said that Tehran opposes the Zangezur corridor project, which is intended to connect different parts of Azerbaijan in the south of Armenia. According to him, this route is allegedly being leased by the United States for 99 years and will be named the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity.”
“Is the South Caucasus a no-man’s land that Trump can lease? This is one of the most strategically sensitive regions on the planet. Such a corridor will not be a “Trump transit route,” but a “graveyard for his mercenaries,” Velayati stressed.
He also noted that he was confident that Russia strategically disagreed with the project, but that Iran, even without Moscow’s support, intended to defend the security of the South Caucasus. At the same time, Tehran generally welcomes peace initiatives between neighbouring countries.
Last April, Armenia and Azerbaijan began the long-awaited process of border delimitation. The talks concerned territories around four Azerbaijani villages, which Armenia agreed to return to Baku. During the same period, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev announced talks with Yerevan in Almaty, and Kazakh leader Kassym-Jomart Tokayev expressed his readiness to provide a platform for dialogue.
The talks took place, and the foreign ministers of the two countries noted progress on border demarcation issues and agreed to continue discussions on the remaining contentious issues.
This March, the parties agreed on the text of a peace treaty, and in July, Pashinyan and Aliyev met in Abu Dhabi, where they discussed all key differences, from obstacles to the signing of a peace agreement to issues of opening transport links between Nakhchivan and the main territory of Azerbaijan via Armenia.
Recently, US president Donald Trump announced a “historic peace summit” at the White House with the participation of Aliyev and Pashinyan.
