By Ruzanna Stepanian
YEREVAN (Azatutyun) — Senior Armenian officials have thanked Iran for reaffirming its strong opposition to land corridors passing through Armenia in response to Russia’s latest push for the opening of such transport links between Azerbaijan and its Nakhichevan exclave.
Tehran stepped up at the weekend its criticism of Moscow’s position expressed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during President Vladimir Putin’s August 18-19 visit to Baku. Lavrov accused Armenia of “sabotaging” a Russian-brokered agreement to build a highway and railway connecting Nakhichevan to the rest of Azerbaijan via Syunik, the only Armenian province bordering Iran.
The accusation prompted serious concern from Iran, which fears losing its common border with Armenia. The Iranian Foreign Ministry reportedly summoned Russia’s ambassador in Tehran last week to warn Moscow against contributing to any “geopolitical changes” in the region.
“We do not accept any changes to borders. My advice to Russia and Azerbaijan is to respect these boundaries,” Ali Nikzad, a deputy speaker of the Iranian parliament, said in a weekend post on the platform formerly known as Twitter.
“We have repeatedly communicated to regional nations that the Zangezur Corridor is a red line for Iran, and any alterations will provoke a strong and serious response,” Ebrahim Azizi, the chairman of the parliament committee on national security and foreign relations, told the ISNA news agency.