Zangezur corridor

The Zangezur corridorThe concept has also been referred to by press and media as the "Nakhchivan corridor" (; ), the "Meghri corridor", (; ) and the "Syunik corridor" (; ).}} (; ) is an irredentist concept for a transport corridor that emerged after the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War, promoted primarily by Azerbaijan and Turkey as a direct land link between mainland Azerbaijan and its Nakhchivan exclave through Armenia’s southern Syunik province. This proposed route, often envisioned without Armenian checkpoints, is framed by its supporters as a way to connect the broader Turkic world. The concept was not part of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement but was introduced to the geopolitical lexicon later by Ilham Aliyev. It has since been promoted by Azerbaijan and Turkey, while Armenia has steadily objected to it, asserting that "corridor logic" deviates from the ceasefire terms, and that it is a form of propaganda that threatens Armenian sovereignty. International perspectives are split—some regard it as a pan-Turkic expansionist project, others as a potential mechanism for easing the long-standing Turkish-Azeri blockade of Armenia. The debate over terminology, sovereignty, and the mode of operation has fueled ongoing tensions, with military threats from Azerbaijan to force the corridor’s creation if Armenia does not agree.

Historically, the Armenian region of Syunik/Zangezur has been contested by Azerbaijan and Turkey since the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1918. Since 2021, Azerbaijan has occupied sections of internationally recognized Armenian territory, especially in Syunik. Soviet-era railway connections once linked Nakhchivan to Azerbaijan through Armenia, but these were severed during the Karabakh Movement in the early 1990s. Past proposals—including land swaps in the 1990s and early 2000s—failed due to strong domestic opposition in both countries.

The dispute intensified in 2021 when Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev claimed Armenia had agreed to the corridor, comparing it to the Lachin corridor linking Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh, and threatening to establish it by military force. Rather than conceding an extraterritorial corridor that threatens its sovereignty, Armenia has instead called for multiple routes to be opened simultaneously as part of the Crossroads of Peace initiative. Turkey champions the Zangezur corridor as a step toward uniting the Turkic world, while critics, including genocide prevention organizations, warn it undermines the safety and security of Armenians. Russia has at times downplayed the “corridor” terminology, framing discussions around general transport reopening, but later signaled support for the plan.

A shift occurred with the 2025 U.S.-brokered Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), which grants the U.S. exclusive development rights to operate the route on commercial terms and is branded as part of the Armenia–Azerbaijan peace agreement, which also reduce Russian, Iranian, and Chinese influence in the South Caucasus. Iran and Russia have condemned the role of the United States as an encroachment. Provided by Wikipedia