TEHRAN – The Azerbaijani president announced on Tuesday that mainland Azerbaijan will be connected to Nakhjavan via Iranian soil.

“An agreement has been reached according to which a road and railway line will be built through the Iranian territory to Nakhjavan,” Ilham Aliyev said during the 27th Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO).

Aliyev also proposed normalization talks with Armenia, which has been fractious for the last three decades. “Azerbaijan supports peace in the region. Azerbaijan has proposed the format of 3+3 cooperation for resolving regional issues with the direct participation of regional countries. Now, historical conditions have been created for normalizing relations between Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan, signing a peace agreement, and turning the South Caucasus into a place for peace and cooperation,” he stated.

This comes after Iranian Minister of Transport and Urban Development Mehrdad Bazrpash met with Aliyev and Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev during a visit to Azerbaijan. The officials discussed plans to launch joint transport projects.

With the new announcement, it seems that Azerbaijan has decided to scrap plans of constructing a corridor inside the Armenian soil. The proposed “Zangezur” corridor would have connected mainland Azerbaijan to the breakaway Nakhjavan region while dismantling the historical borders of Iran and Armenia. Tehran voiced its opposition to the building of such corridor multiple times and warned against making any geopolitical changes in the region. 

To build the Zangezur corridor, Azerbaijan would have had to launch an offensive against Armenia and illegally capture the southern province of Syunik. Azerbaijan and Armenia fought two wars in 2020 and 2023, during which Baku managed to capture the Nagoro-Krabakh region. According to international law, the region is officially part of Azerbaijan though it has been inhabited by an Armenian population for hundreds of years. Large numbers of Armenians left the area after Baku’s latest offensive.  

MHA/PA