Azerbaijani MP Threatens to "Clear the Corridor by Force"

Harsh statements and new demands are being voiced from Azerbaijan directed at Armenia, accompanied by open threats of military force. Azerbaijani parliament member Gudrat Hasanguliyev has stated that if Armenia does not open the so-called "Zangezur corridor," Baku may resort to extreme measures.

In one of his interviews, Hasanguliyev noted that Azerbaijan should conduct serious negotiations with Turkey, Russia, and the United States, bypassing Armenia's internal political situation. According to him, if the Armenian side does not make a swift decision, "Azerbaijan will be forced to clear the corridor's territory by force (referring to Armenia's Syunik province), and then hand it over under strict guarantees to the control of Russia or the US, in accordance with the agreements of November 10, 2020, or August 8, 2025."

As an alternative, Hasanguliyev proposed signing a memorandum of peace, which, however, would contain new preconditions for Armenia. According to him, Armenia must immediately begin the construction of the road to Nakhichevan and undertake an obligation to make changes to its Constitution in the near future.

Parallel to this belligerent rhetoric, the thesis of "returning to Western Azerbaijan" is also being actively promoted in Baku. During a discussion organized with the financial support of the Azerbaijani government, the head of an Azerbaijani NGO, Professor Fuad Mammadov, stated: "The return of Azerbaijanis to present-day Armenia is a matter of fundamental human rights, and we must work more actively in this direction."