ANKARA: Turkiye on Saturday welcomed a peace accord between Azerbaijan and Armenia and said it hoped a planned strategic transit corridor, which could boost exports of energy and other resources through the South Caucasus, will open soon.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a US-brokered peace accord on Friday during a meeting with US President Donald Trump that also included exclusive US development rights to a transport corridor through Armenia, linking Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan, an Azerbaijani enclave that borders Baku’s ally Turkiye.
The transit corridor that would pass close to the border with Iran, will be named the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, and known by the acronym TRIPP, and will be operated under Armenia law.
NATO member Turkiye has strongly backed Azerbaijan in its conflicts with Armenia but has pledged to restore ties with Yerevan after it signs a final peace deal with Baku.
Speaking in Egypt, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the corridor could “link Europe with the depths of Asia via Turkiye,” and it would be “a very beneficial development.”
The peace agreement could transform the South Caucasus, an energy-producing region neighbouring Russia, Europe, Turkiye and Iran that is criss-crossed by oil and gas pipelines but riven by closed borders – including between Turkiye and Armenia – and longstanding ethnic conflicts.
Iran welcomed the agreement “as an important step toward lasting regional peace”, but warned against any foreign intervention near its borders that could “undermine the region’s security and lasting stability”.
