BAKU, Azerbaijan, Mar. 14
Trend:
Another historic event for the region - signing of a memorandum of understanding on the creation of new communications between Azerbaijan and Iran took place on March 11, 2022, Trend reports.
The official foundation was laid for the creation of new communications that will connect the East Zangazur economic region and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan through the territory of Iran.
According to the document, between the East Zangazur economic region and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan, a new railway and highway, as well as communication and power transmission lines will be laid through the territory of Iran.
The scope of the project is very large. It’s planned to build four bridges across the Araz River, including two road and two railroad bridges, to create a communications and energy supply infrastructure. These bridges will be located five kilometers from the border with Armenia.
A checkpoint will be built on the border between Iran and Azerbaijan, the capacity of which will be at least 1,000 trucks.
Thus, the transport-communication landscape of the region as a whole is changing, linking Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey and laying the foundation for a new multi-purpose corridor in Eurasia, including roads, railways, power lines and digital communications.
Meanehile, the revanchist activity of the Armenian political leadership has once again left the country out of this large-scale project. this isn't the first time - for the past 30 years, Armenia has been excluded from all large-scale projects in the region. This opportunity was Armenia's last hope.
Foreign investments and participation in regional and international projects are vital for Armenia, with its declining economy, which has been excluded from all international projects.
However, Armenia, instead of forgetting about hostility and take advantage of this historic opportunity, made obstacles for the creation of the Zangazur corridor. The country has once again failed to fulfill its obligations and demonstrated to the world that it cannot be a reliable partner.
A chance Azerbaijan gave Armenia was misunderstood - Armenia through it can use this proposal to put pressure on Azerbaijan and drag this process. It didn't work. In the coming years, the Armenian society will feel the full consequences of the lost economic opportunity.
Against the backdrop of global developments and crises, Armenia's near future is far from bright. The Armenian society, the leadership of Armenia should once again seriously think - was it worth to miss such a chance?