Moscow [Russia], January 12: The Caucasus republic of Azerbaijan is demanding that neighbouring Armenia establish a land corridor free of control to the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhichevan, President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview with Azerbaijan television channels in Baku.
"Cargo, citizens and vehicles going from Azerbaijan to Azerbaijan should pass through freely without undergoing any inspection and customs clearance," Aliyev was quoted as saying in the interview by state news agency Azertag on Thursday.
"If the route I mentioned is not opened, we are not going to open our border with Armenia anywhere else," Alivey asserted."So, they will do themselves more harm than good."Armenia and Azerbaijan were once both part of the Soviet Union and have been fighting for decades, particularly over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Azerbaijan reconquered Nagorno-Karabakh last autumn, triggering a mass exodus of 120,000 Karabakh Armenians to Armenia.
Another point of contention is the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhichevan which lies between Armenia and Iran. Armenia fears that a transport corridor through its south could give rise to further claims from Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan considers the region to be territory that historically belongs to it. Even the Armenian capital, Yerevan, is actually Azerbaijani, Aliyev claimed.
Azerbaijani political commentator Zardusht Alizade told RFE/RL that while Azerbaijan wanted goods to travel to Nakhchivan without passing border or customs checks, the country did not seek to control the corridor.
Aliyev justified upcoming early presidential election in Azerbaijan on February 7 by saying that his country had finally restored its sovereignty following the recapture of Nagorno-Karabakh. Until 2020, Armenia controlled Nagorno-Karabakh and parts of Azerbaijan. However Baku has been able to significantly ramp up its defence capabilities thanks to revenue from oil and gas. (DPA)
Source: Qatar Tribune
