BAKU, AZERBAIJAN – Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stated on Monday that Turkey supports the opening of the “Zangezur corridor”, a strip of land currently in the Republic of Armenia’s Syunik region that would presumably connect Azerbaijan with Nakhichevan and the Republic of Turkey, effectively realizing a long sought goal of pan-Turanism.
“We strongly support the Zangezur corridor, which will provide a connection between the western regions of Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan,” Cavusoglu said in a joint news conference with his Azerbaijani and Kazakh counterparts in Baku, using the Turkish name for Nakhichevan, the historically Armenian territory ceded to Azerbaijan by the Soviets that is currently reachable only through Armenia.
“We are expecting the opening of the corridor immediately,” Cavusoglu said, adding that this development will have a positive impact on the region.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in late May that he had agreed with Pashinyan on the opening of the Zangezur corridor, including the construction of both railways and highways. Pashinyan’s underlings have denied that he has agreed to hand over a corridor to Azerbaijan, though Pashinyan himself has refused to elaborate on what he has agreed to with Aliyev.
