Aliyev: Peseshkian is an Azerbaijani, Iran will not interfere with the Zangezur Corridor

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev spoke about relations with Iran and the implementation of the Zangezur Corridor in an interview with Al Arabiya.

According to Aliyev, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is an Azerbaijani, and this is the basis for their mutual understanding.

"Pezeshkian is an Azerbaijani. He has the same blood as me. We speak the same language. We don't need a translator. He demonstrated his knowledge of Azerbaijani poetry at one of the public events, and he did not need any notes. He is a very talented person," Aliyev said.

The President of Azerbaijan considered unimportant the statement of Ali Akbar Velayati, adviser to the Supreme Leader of Iran on international affairs, that an attempt to promote the project of the Zangezur Corridor, a road through the Syunik region of Armenia, which Azerbaijan intends to open to its exclave, would face a tough response from Iran.

"We base our policy on politicians elected by the Iranian people and authorized to carry out their duties, that is, on the president. Some former officials, who are now called advisers, expressed certain opinions. I do not know what advice they give. The reaction was immediate… Our interstate relations are built at the level of governments, presidents and foreign ministers. Therefore, we absolutely ignore these false narratives of idle advisers. Therefore, everything is clear to us. The president's position is completely logical and proceeds from the fact that the Zangezur corridor does not threaten Iran in any way," Aliyev said.

He called the information that Azerbaijan intends to "occupy Zangezur and block the border between Iran and Turkey a "complete lie". Armenia."

"If we wanted to do it, we would have done it. This was very easy to do in November 2020. This has been very easy to do over the past five years. It's only 40 kilometers, from a military point of view it wouldn't take much time. You just come and take it from both sides — from Nakhichevan and from this side of Azerbaijan," the Azerbaijani president said.

He is confident that after the Washington agreements between Baku and Yerevan, certified by the signature of US President Donald Trump, the corridor project is the "Trump route" (TRIPP). — it will be implemented.

"For about five years, Armenia has not demonstrated a constructive position regarding our demands and legitimate aspirations. Therefore, when President Trump and his team were involved in the process, when they wanted to mediate, we gave them the following message: the Zangezur corridor should be operational and safe, that is, Azerbaijani citizens should be able to safely cross this distance of more than 40 kilometers, reliable security guarantees should be provided. It is necessary to provide international security guarantees. Guarantees provided only by Armenia are not enough. The Trump administration correctly addressed this legitimate concern, and as a result, the TRIPP project was born. After President Trump gave his name to the Zangezur corridor, I am sure that this project will be implemented very soon," Aliyev said.

According to him, the construction of physical infrastructure, namely the railway, should not take much time, since the distance is only 42 kilometers.

"If we had to build it, we would have completed it within a year. Armenia will probably need a few more years, since we have more experience in the construction of railways," Aliyev said.

He said that today one of the branches of the Middle Corridor — the route from Asia through the Caspian Sea — runs through Azerbaijan to Georgia, Turkey and further to Europe, including Georgian ports. This is the only route connecting Asia with Europe through the territory of Azerbaijan. The Zangezur Corridor, or TRIPP, will create an alternative.

"The second corridor will pass through the territory of Armenia. This is beneficial for Armenia. I tried to convey this message to my Armenian colleagues that as a result they will become a transit country. If there is potential, each country aspires to become a transit country. For example, we want to be a transit country. We want the corridors from East to West, from North to South to pass through Azerbaijan. Armenia was deprived of these opportunities because of the occupation. There is no transit through the country. Thanks to the Zangezur corridor, Armenia will receive transit rights for transportation. Considering that the volume of cargo transported from Asia to Europe through the territory of Azerbaijan is increasing every year, I am sure that the Zangezur corridor will become an important transport link connecting the continents," the President of Azerbaijan outlined the benefits of the project.

Aliyev also spoke about the "collapse of the Minsk Group."

"Our logic was that the Minsk Group was established by the OSCE in 1992 to resolve the Karabakh conflict. The legal existence of the Minsk Group is absurd, given that Armenia officially recognizes Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan, and the conflict has been settled. If they insist on preserving it, it shows that they still have territorial claims to Karabakh. This logic was the basis of our position. We spent a lot of time and effort to convince Armenia that both sides should write a letter to the OSCE on the dissolution of the Minsk Group, and this happened with the participation of President Trump. Now the process has already begun, and this will mean the legal collapse of the Minsk Group, since it has been inactive for more than five years," he said.