Turkish Nationalist Movement Party leader Devlet Bahçeli has framed the so-called “Zangezur Corridor” not merely as a transport route, but as part of a broader Turkic geopolitical project extending across Armenia’s sovereign territory.
Bahçeli described the route as a “historic line” that would strengthen Nakhichevan’s connection with Azerbaijan and link Turkey to the Caspian Sea through “brotherly Azerbaijan,” and from there to Central Asia.
“This corridor will create a strategically important environment for spreading the spirit of ‘one nation, two states’ across the entire Turkic world,” Bahçeli said, adding that the line is, “in fact, the Turan Corridor.”
By calling the route a “Turan Corridor” stretching “from Kars to the borders of Turkestan,” Bahçeli cast Armenia not as an equal sovereign state in a regional connectivity project, but as a geographic obstacle to a larger Turkic strategic space.
His remarks come as Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has again referred to the U.S.-backed TRIPP transport route as the “Zangezur Corridor,” a term that continues to raise concerns over Baku’s interpretation of regional connectivity agreements.
In a message to participants in the international conference “Regional Contribution to Global Security: Peacebuilding in the South Caucasus,” Aliyev said Azerbaijan is pursuing a “determined policy” aimed at establishing and preserving long-term peace and stability in the region.
Aliyev said last year’s signing of a joint declaration in Washington by the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, along with the initialing of a peace agreement, had “completely changed the situation in the South Caucasus.” In that context, he said the “Zangezur Corridor” would connect mainland Azerbaijan with Nakhichevan and become one of the key segments of the Middle Corridor.
The wording is notable because Armenia has repeatedly rejected any extraterritorial “corridor” through its sovereign territory, while the TRIPP framework has been presented as a transport and connectivity initiative rather than a corridor outside Armenian control.
Together, Bahçeli’s and Aliyev’s remarks underscore how Turkish and Azerbaijani officials continue to present the proposed route through Armenia’s Syunik region in pan-Turkic and geopolitical terms, as Yerevan’s confidence that any regional transport links will operate under Armenia’s sovereignty and jurisdiction appears increasingly questionable.
“This corridor will create a strategically important environment for spreading the spirit of ‘one nation, two states’ across the entire Turkic world,” Bahçeli said, adding that the line is, “in fact, the Turan Corridor.”
