Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei has commented on recent statements by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev during a press briefing.
He emphasized that the creation of transport corridors "must not, even by one millimeter, violate the sovereignty or territorial integrity of any country," as reported by 1lurer.am .
“We support expanding cooperation among regional countries,” Baghaei said, “but we have always stressed that such actions—including the establishment of corridors—must not, even slightly, infringe on any country's sovereignty, its territorial integrity, internationally recognized borders, or lead to geopolitical changes in the region.”
He further noted that, in some cases, remarks made by officials from other Caucasus countries could be misinterpreted. However, Iran’s stance remains clear and has been repeatedly conveyed.
During an international media forum, Aliyev expanded on the so-called “Zangezur Corridor” narrative, stating that “Azerbaijani cargo and citizens should not encounter Armenian border guards or anyone else.” He described the corridor as an unrestricted and secure link between Azerbaijani territories and claimed the matter was also raised during his meeting with the Armenian Prime Minister in Abu Dhabi. Aliyev added there would be “no operators, leasing, or rentals” on their territory.
Responding to these remarks, Armenian Prime Minister’s spokesperson Nazeli Baghdasaryan emphasized that Armenia “has never discussed, is not discussing, and will never discuss the terminology cited by the Azerbaijani president or the logic that follows from it.” She also stressed that “Aliyev’s claim that Azerbaijanis should not meet Armenian border guards is inconsistent with the nature of the discussions that have taken place.”
