Turkey plans to increase cargo transport through Zangezur "corridor"

PanARMENIAN.Net - Erman Ereke, head of the Permanent Mission of the World Road Transport Organisation (IRU) in Turkey and the Middle East, has said that the "Zangezur corridor" could attract more than half of the cargo turnover between Turkey and Central Asian countries, Sputnik Azerbaijan reports.

Azerbaijan and Turkey have on multiple occasions raised the question about the Zangezur "corridor" through the southern Armenian province of Syunik that would connect Nakhijevan to the rest of Azerbaijan. The Armenian side, however, has repeatedly denied being involved in negotiations for the provision of a corridor to Azerbaijan, stressing that they have only agreed to unblock transport communications in the region.

According to Ereke, the opening of the "corridor" will benefit all countries in the region. In particular, he noted, this will increase the volume of cargo transportation from the southern ports of Iraq, Syria and the Mediterranean in transit through Turkey.

"Currently, the average annual turnover between Turkey and the countries of Central Asia is 110-120 thousand trucks," Ereke said.

"I believe that with the opening of the Zangezur corridor and the simplification of a number of procedures in Azerbaijan, more than half of these cargoes can pass here," Ereke stressed.