US floats 100-year lease on Zangezur corridor to break Armenia-Azerbaijan deadlock
NEW YORK
The U.S. ambassador to Türkiye and special envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, has revealed Washington's proposal to manage the disputed Zangezur transport corridor between Armenia and Azerbaijan, aiming to jumpstart stalled peace talks by having a private American firm lease and operate the 32-kilometer route for 100 years.
Speaking to reporters at a New York briefing last week, Barrack said: "They are arguing over 32 kilometers of road, but this is no trivial matter. It has dragged on for a decade - 32 kilometers of road. So what happens is that America steps in and says: 'Okay, we’ll take it over. Give us the 32 kilometers of road on a hundred-year lease, and you can all share it.'"
The corridor would link mainland Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave via Armenia's southern Syunik province, potentially unlocking the Middle Corridor trade route from China to Europe.
Barrack framed the U.S. role as a neutral guarantor to resolve the impasse, noting the idea aligns with efforts to foster regional stability.
Armenia swiftly rebuffed the suggestion.
Government spokesperson Nazeli Baghdasaryan stated: "Armenia has not discussed and will not discuss the transfer of any part of its sovereign territory to third countries. The handover of control over the Zangezur section in Armenia's Syunik region to another state or companies is out of the question."
The proposal has fueled domestic backlash against Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, with opponents accusing him of selling out national interests amid normalization pushes with Türkiye and Azerbaijan.
Türkiye supports the corridor's swift activation in a way that respects all parties' consents and benefits, viewing it as key to broader connectivity.
However, a Turkish presidential source told local media Ankara is unaware of specific U.S. plans and cannot comment.
The draft "grand peace treaty" between Armenia and Azerbaijan is reportedly 90 percent ready, with Zangezur among three unresolved issues—alongside mutual non-aggression on compensation claims and barring third-country military bases.
Yerevan insists on applying its domestic laws border-to-border for any transit.Background on the corridor stems from the November 2020 Moscow-brokered truce after the Karabakh war, which envisioned Russian border guards overseeing the Armenian segment.
But Russia's focus shifted post-2022 Ukraine invasion, straining ties with both nations.
Neither Yerevan nor Baku favors Moscow's dominance in the region anymore.
Russia's lingering involvement is limited to railways, as Armenia's network ties to Russian state railways; Pashinyan could nationalize it to sideline Moscow entirely.
