Pashinyan: “There Is No ‘Zangezur Corridor,’ Has Never Been, and Will Not Appear in Any Armenia–Azerbaijan Document”

STRASBOURG —  “There is no such phrase as ‘Zangezur Corridor’ in any Armenia–Azerbaijan document, it has never existed, and you can be sure it never will.” Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan made this statement at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in response to a question from a member of the European Conservatives Party.

The MP asked about the so-called “Zangezur Corridor,” claiming it was part of the peace treaty being negotiated between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Pashinyan dismissed this, asking in turn: “Where exactly have you read the phrase ‘Zangezur Corridor’?” He clarified that none of the agreements discussed or adopted in Washington contain such terminology.

According to Pashinyan, circulating the phrase “Zangezur Corridor” undermines the peace process since it lies outside the “legitimate vocabulary” agreed upon by the parties. He added that if by this term Azerbaijan implies part of Armenia’s sovereign territory, it would constitute a “gross violation” of the mutual recognition of sovereignty already agreed to.

The Prime Minister noted that he even asked Azerbaijan’s president to point out this so-called corridor on a map: “No one has the right to name any part of the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia with a term not accepted by Armenia.”

Pashinyan stressed that the agreements reached in Washington concern the unblocking of regional transport links. He underlined that the parties committed to open communications based on the principles of territorial integrity, sovereignty, jurisdiction, and reciprocity.

Pashinyan had acknowledged during remarks in Istanbul this June that Azerbaijan might still call Armenia’s proposed “Crossroads of Peace” by the name “Zangezur Corridor”:
“We must also be prepared that when the Crossroads of Peace opens, Azerbaijan will say, ‘Look, the Zangezur Corridor is open.’”