Asaf Hajiyev, Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), stated that the so-called “Zangezur Corridor” must be opened and that there is no alternative to it. He insisted that Azerbaijani citizens should be able to transit through the corridor without undergoing inspections, according to APA.

Hajiyev claimed that the corridor falls within the broader Black Sea region and emphasized its strategic economic value. “The core principle is cooperation. How can there be regional cooperation without the Zangezur Corridor?” he said. “Yes, there are other options—like via Iran. But everyone in today’s economy looks for the cheapest routes, and the Zangezur Corridor is the most economical.”

He argued that the corridor is now more important for Armenia than for Azerbaijan: “Azerbaijan has resolved its issues. So I believe Armenians will approach this rationally, and the corridor will be opened. There is no alternative.”

To illustrate his point, Hajiyev compared it to Russian trains traveling through Lithuania to Kaliningrad without checks. “Why should I be checked when traveling from one region of my country to another? Azerbaijani citizens must pass without checks,” he said.

In August 2024, reports indicated that Armenia and Azerbaijan had mutually agreed to remove the regional connectivity clause from the main peace agreement. However, in early January 2025, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev renewed demands for the corridor, accompanied by threats, and raised the issue again during a late-January meeting on transport policy.