Turkey's Insistence on Constructing the Zangezur Corridor; Erdogan Says It's a Significant Step for Regional Peace and Prosperity

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the President of Turkey, emphasized the importance of opening the Zangezur corridor in the South Caucasus on Tuesday. According to Turkey's Anadolu Agency, Erdogan stated after a cabinet meeting in Ankara: "I hope we can realize the opening of the Zangezur corridor as soon as possible and establish uninterrupted road and rail connections with our friendly and brotherly Azerbaijan through Nakhchivan." The Turkish President added, "I hope to transform our region into a domain of peace and prosperity with joint projects that will also involve Iran." Erdogan had previously mentioned that the opening of this corridor is a "strategic issue" for Turkey and is "very important" for relations between Ankara and Baku. This corridor is set to be constructed near the border of Armenia with Iran and may alter the border between Iran and Armenia. These remarks came a day after Erdogan's visit to the autonomous Republic of Nakhchivan, where he met with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, to discuss bilateral relations, regional and international developments, especially the recent situation in Nagorno-Karabakh.