Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has lauded the prospects of the “Zangezur Corridor,” Azerbaijani media report. 

“I am confident that the Zangezur Corridor will soon become another important segment of the Middle Corridor, as well as the North-South Corridor, which will contribute to enhancing peace, multilateral partnership ,” Aliyev said in his speech at the SCO Plus meeting at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Tianjin, China.

According to him, this “corridor” will benefit all of Azerbaijan’s close and distant neighbors: east, west, north, and south of the country’s borders.

He said that the Middle Corridor is a reliable and safe route connecting China, Central Asia, and Europe through Azerbaijan.

According to him, since 2022, the amount of cargo transportation through the Middle Corridor through Azerbaijan has increased by almost 90 percent.

“Recent agreements connecting mainland Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic are expected to further expand transit capabilities for international transportation,” the Azerbaijani president added.

Thus, detailing the wide possibilities of this new route, Aliyev did not even bother to indicate with whom these agreements were reached and through whose territory this route will pass. On the contrary, from the way the Azerbaijani leader presents his thoughts, it is possible to conclude that the territory through which this “corridor” will pass is also Azerbaijani.

Currently, the Middle Corridor route passes through Georgia. But the opening of the road through Syunik Province of Armenia will considerably shorten this route.