BAKU (Realist English). The head of the Baku regime, Ilham Aliyev, has publicly ruled out any form of foreign control over the planned transport corridor through Armenia’s Syunik region. Speaking this week, Aliyev declared that no international operators or external oversight would be allowed on what he described as the territory of the “Azerbaijani state.”
“We will not allow the movement between the western and eastern parts of Azerbaijan to depend on third parties,” Aliyev stated, referring to the proposed east-west corridor intended to connect mainland Azerbaijan with the exclave of Nakhijevan.
The Azerbaijani leader emphasized that citizens of his country “should not be subject to Armenian border control,” arguing that such procedures “pose a threat to their safety.” He further claimed that Baku would “ensure uninterrupted communication between its regions,” bypassing any Armenian or international involvement.
The statements come amid growing tensions over attempts by Azerbaijan to force a transit route through Armenian sovereign territory under the label of “corridor,” a concept rejected by Yerevan as a violation of national sovereignty.
It should be recalled that the regions Aliyev names — Utik, Artsakh, Syunik, and Nakhijevan — have never been Azerbaijani lands. They are historically Armenian territories — and will remain so.
