YEREVAN—Ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku this November, Azerbaijan made a surprising move by placing the contentious “Zangezur corridor” issue on pause in its ongoing negotiations with Armenia.
Elchin Amirbekov, a special envoy for Azerbaijan, announced this on August 7 after his visit to the U.S. “The regional communication duties article had been removed from the peace treaty draft,” Amirbekov stated, reflecting a strategic shift in regional geopolitics. “We do not want to complicate the process of concluding a peace agreement.”
Amirbekov continued that Azerbaijan’s primary goal is to address the core issue of Armenia’s supposed illegal territorial claims, which it views as central to the conflict. “Azerbaijan is committed to meeting the expectations of the international community and resolving once and for all the issue of Armenia’s territorial claims. We hope to overcome the remaining obstacles promptly to secure a lasting and irreversible peace,” Amirbekov added.
The primary sticking point in the negotiations involves Azerbaijan’s demand for Armenia to amend or remove the preamble from its constitution. This preamble, which references Armenia’s territorial integrity as well as the 1989 declaration on the unification of Armenia and Artsakh, is seen by Azerbaijan and Turkey as a basis for future territorial claims.
However, Amirbekov’s announcement raises questions about the feasibility of achieving these constitutional changes within the current political framework in Armenia. The Armenian Constitution, derived from the principles of the country’s Declaration of Independence, cannot be amended without significant procedural steps, including a national referendum. Given the current political climate, such changes could provoke considerable internal upheaval.
A Constitutional Reforms Council has been tasked with drafting a new constitution by January 2027, although there are indications that work on constitutional amendments may already be underway. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has suggested that any new constitutional provisions would likely be subject to a public referendum. However, the timing and specifics of such a referendum remain uncertain and politically sensitive.
In spite of Amirbekov’s announcement, an Azerbaijani government website published a renewed demand for an extraterritorial corridor through Armenia today. Tatev Hayrapetyan, an expert on Azerbaijan, shared the statement published on one of the websites managed by the state agencies of Azerbaijan:
“Let’s return to the issue of Zangezur. The transfer of the lands of Western Zangezur to Armenia was a clear injustice toward Azerbaijan and its people. This injustice must be corrected, and it will be. President Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly emphasized that we will return to Zangezur. The timing and manner of this will be determined by the president himself, and there is no need for external interference.”
Several factors appear to influence Azerbaijan’s decision to delay discussions on the “Zangezur corridor.” Last fall, Azerbaijan established communication channels with Iran, constructing a road bridge and setting up a customs and border checkpoint. These projects, further accelerated by a meeting between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi in May, have lessened the immediate urgency of the “Zangezur corridor.” The easing of regional tensions with Iran has diminished the corridor’s strategic importance for Azerbaijan.
Iran has expressed strong support for lifting the regional blockade but insists that this should respect Armenian sovereignty. Iranian Ambassador to Armenia Mehdi Sobhani articulated this position during a recent conversation with journalists. “Our stance on the blockade is unequivocal: we support its removal, provided that the process respects the sovereignty of Armenia,” Sobhani stated.
When asked about the consequences of a delay in lifting the blockade, Sobhani emphasized the importance of mutual agreement. “It is expected that removing the blockade would lead to increased traffic, but this must be achieved through mutual consent and negotiation. If such an agreement is reached, it signifies progress towards peace, which benefits the entire region and its peoples. We support all efforts aimed at establishing stable and lasting peace,” he said.
Azerbaijan’s decision comes as it seeks to bolster its international image. With parliamentary elections scheduled for September and COP29 approaching, Baku aims to avoid further controversy. The country’s significant reliance on oil and gas, coupled with its advocacy for increased investment in fossil fuels, stand in stark contrast to the climate-centric goals of COP meetings. This disparity has led to concerns about Azerbaijan’s qualifications to host a conference focused on climate issues and hesitancy among some companies to participate.
The move to temporarily shelve the “Zangezur corridor” discussions can be viewed as a strategy to mitigate criticism and foster a favorable international image during this crucial period.
Domestic political considerations also play a role in this decision. In Armenia, there is growing public dissent regarding the government’s handling of negotiations with Azerbaijan. Recent protests have pressured PM Pashinyan to assertively defend national interests. By postponing discussions on the “Zangezur corridor,” Azerbaijan may aim to avoid exacerbating political instability in Armenia, which could potentially lead to a change in leadership less amenable to compromise.
Pro-government analysts in Armenia support Aliyev’s view, arguing that any mention of reunification with Artsakh poses a territorial threat and contradicts international norms. They contend that Artsakh should be recognized as part of Azerbaijan, dismissing Armenia’s historic claims. Critics of this perspective point out that historical maps and documents, such as the Wilsonian arbitration award, show Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) as part of Armenia. Furthermore, the 1921 Kars Treaty, which transferred Artsakh to Soviet Azerbaijan, was made between entities that are no longer internationally recognized and does not align with international legal standards.
Azerbaijan’s demands that Armenia remove references to Artsakh from its legal documents and dissolve the OSCE Minsk Group could be seen as part of a strategy to force Armenia into a position from which negotiating a resolution to the Artsakh conflict in its favor will become increasingly difficult.
Hoory Minoyan
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Wilsonian Armenia boundaries doesn’t have support from any UN state so a dead letter
@Charlie
You stopped demonizing Russia today, but absolving western promises on the guise of technicalities
Interesting double standards Charlie, when you champion demonizing Russia, and cleverly omit the full letter of laws and agreements.
Thenyou create golems like Sevan Peter B. Interesting how duplicitous and hypocritical you are Charlie
I speak for myself actually
Russia hypocrite, says Armenia was occupied internationally recognised Azerbaijan and must withdraw and then goes to occupy Ukraine with a friend like that enemies are easier to deal with
Yakub – take off the tinfoil hat.
The chameleon Azerbaijan will make short term adjustments just like big brother Turkey to satisfy short term interests….. in this case cleaning up its image for COP29. This has nothing to do with its long term goals. They speak of changing Armenia’s Constitution but at the same time overtly state about “western Azerbaijan” claims which is sovereign Armenia. They have zero credibility.
It is a joke for a fossil fuel dictatorship to host a climate conference.
I agree Stepan, except that it isn’t a joke, it’s outright genocidal and evil. As for Azerbaijan’s despotic fascistic leader, Ilham Aliyev: He does look like a clown, a scary clown, and the kind of clown that makes children cry, and mothers weep.
Charlie with more half-truths, openly leading Armenians straight into turkish arms
Charlie omitting that Armenia has not asked Russia for help on its internationally recognized borders
Charlie forgetting Ukraine openly ethnically cleansing Russians in the Donbass, and that Ukraine is an enemy of Armenia
Charlie continuing his mendacity. Charlie wont be happy until Armenia is destroyed
Charlie, you disgust me
Azerbaijan, as usual, employs sweet doublespeak to portray itself as “moderate”, “peaceloving”(!), “tolerant”(!), “multiethnic”(!) and ready for “compromise” with Armenia(!), in its attempt to fool the outside world, especially when this sneaky dictatorship is about to host an international sporting event like the first ever European Games, an international music festival like the Eurovision, or an international conference like the COP29. And everytime, the outside world, especially the West, which regards itself as so sensitive on democracy and human rights, goes along with Azerbaijan’s devious charade.
One should take a glimpse at the foreign language news websites of Azerbaijan, where they often employ such sweet doubletalk to fool the foreign audiences, and compare them with news websites of Azerbaijan in Azerbaijani and Turkish via a machine translator, where they employ such vile Armenophobic vitriol, just like Nazi Germany employed the vilest anti-Semitic vitriol. The Azerbaijani dictatorship and mindset, is a like a person with split personalities, a Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde coming to life.
Steve M Al Jazeera did and probably still does the same double talk in English was quite moderate in reports and other Arab nations in Arabic quite seditious
Charles
Yes, Al Jazeera is indeed infamous for its employment of doubletalk, with relatively moderate coverage in its English language channel and website vis-a-vis the hardline coverage in its Arabic language channel and website. Apparently, its Arabic version is as hardline as ever.
Yakub Russia and Turkey get along reasonably Armenia is expendable to Moscow – sorry to upset you
Charlie, Turkey is a NATO member and Turkey gets along with everyone.
Turkey also genocided Armenia, and the only part of historic Armenia that survived was under the Russian Empire.
Yakub, clearly the Kremlin the citadel of disingenuous malice hasn’t updated you that Turkey has made hostile rhetoric towards Israel and reduced trade and join the ICJ genocide petition against Israel so clearly it doesn’t get along with everyone actually ‘mate’
Half-truth Charlie!
Obfuscating facts one more time! Natural gas and oil are flowing like crazy from Turkey to Israel, feeding the Israeli war machine!
Half-truth Charlie, why do you like lying so much?
Yakub, it’s a bankers war, need better briefing from the Kremlin. Keep us posted on Kursk
Turkey doesn’t get along with any of its neighbors, except for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Bulgaria, for obvious geostrategic reasons, and also doesn’t get along with most of the Middle East and North Africa, except for Qatar, and nor with most of Europe, except for Russia, Belarus, Hungary, Serbia and Bulgaria, again for geostrategic reasons. Erdogan’s aggressive and interventionist new imperialist Pan-Turkic and Neo-Ottoman policies have alienated and antagonized most of these countries in these regions against Turkey, and rallied some of them against him and his country. Thanks to his ideological fanaticism, lust for power and megalomania, Erdogan inevitably shot himself in the foot, by recklessly plunging Turkey into dangerous adventures, which has gained nothing for the country, except in isolating it in the international arena and also ruining its economy. Hopefully, he continues to drag down Turkey with himself.
Russia and Iran need the land bridge called Armenia intact, despite the US’s and the turks best efforts to sabotage it (using they’re stooge pashoglu to try to make that happen). The population in Armenia is by and large ignorant and/or apathtic it seems. Give them their kebab and snoop dogg concerts and they’ll be happy.
No Turk can ever be trusted.
Any agreement with the Turks will have to be backed up by force.
Armenia’s knife must always be aimed at the Turks’ neck.