Aliyev Threatens to Establish a ‘Corridor’ in Southern Armenia by Force

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan accused Aliyev of trying to “abort the process” of the Tripartite peace declaration and of stepping back from his agreements.

“If Aliyev is speaking about the Zangezur corridor, then, with the same logic, we can talk about the corridor of Nakhchivan, about the northern-Azerbaijani corridor,” Pashinyan said, adding that, according to the November 9 agreement, both Armenia and Azerbaijan will get “corridors” with equivalent status for both countries.

Armenian political analyst Eric Hacopian told OC Media there are no credible military threats to “back up his rhetoric,” which, he added, was reminiscent of “Saddam Hussein.”  Hacopian also said that he believes the remarks were not only meant for Armenia, but for a domestic audience as well.

With respect to the possibility of unblocking the transport links between the countries, Hacopian said that “as a matter of policy, anything that opens up the railway lines to Iran and Russia via Azerbaijani territory is good for Armenia.” But, he added, “there are limits, and this kind of Saddamesque language could lead to those limits coming into play.”

Point 9 of the Tripartite Peace Declaration stipulates that “the Republic of Armenia shall guarantee the safety of transport links between western regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic with a view to organising the unimpeded movement of citizens, vehicles and cargo in both directions. The Border Service of the FSB of Russia shall exercise control over the transport communication.”

It also states that “the construction of new infrastructure linking the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic with regions of Azerbaijan shall be carried out” only “subject to agreement by the Parties [Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan].”