In an interview with Saudi Arabia’s Al Arabiya TV channel, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev stated that he believes the events that took place in Washington on August 8 in fact mark the end of confrontation and tension. He spoke about the background of the conflict and the decades-long occupation of Azerbaijani territories. The Second Karabakh War broke out in 2020, and we liberated our internationally recognized territories as a result of the 44-day Patriotic War, President Aliyev said. The President also spoke about the history of the transfer of Western Zangezur to Armenia, which had connected Nakhchivan with Azerbaijan, after April 1920 when the Russian army entered and occupied Azerbaijan. Thus, as the President noted, Azerbaijan was divided into two parts: the main territory and Nakhchivan. Western Zangezur remained between them. During the Soviet era, this was not a problem, as there were no borders and no war. During that time, people were able to travel freely by car and train between Azerbaijan’s main territory and Nakhchivan. However, after the start of Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan, this route was blocked, and the Armenians closed the corridor. On November 10, 2020, we stopped at our border without taking the road by force, but we made it clear to Armenia that they could not cut off our connection with Nakhchivan. We had been negotiating with them over these communications for about five years. During this time, we began constructing a railway to the Armenian border and roads connecting Nakhchivan. We expect that the highway projects will probably be ready next year, as well as the railroad.

But for about five years, Armenia did not demonstrate a constructive stance regarding our demands and legitimate requests. Therefore, when President Trump and his team became involved in the process and wanted to facilitate, our message to them was: the Zangezur Corridor must be operational and secure, meaning that Azerbaijani citizens should be able to travel safely along this 40-plus-kilometer route, with reliable security guarantees in place. International security guarantees must be provided. So Trump's administration accepted this legitimate concern with the proper attitude, and that's how it turned into TRIPP — Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity. So now, when President Trump gave his name to the Zangezur Corridor, I'm sure that it will materialize very soon. From the point of building the physical infrastructure, I mean the railroad, it should not take a long time, because it's only 42 kilometers. If we were to build it ourselves, we would have done it in one year.  Today, the Middle Corridor, one of its branches, which goes across the Caspian from Asia, goes from Azerbaijan to Georgia, to Türkiye, and then to Europe, and also to Georgian seaports. This is the only way to connect Asia with Europe through Azerbaijan. So, the Zangezur Corridor, or TRIPP, will provide an alternative route. The second corridor will go through the territory of Armenia. So with the Zangezur Corridor, Armenia will get transit fees from transportation. Taking into account that the volumes of cargo from Asia to Europe through Azerbaijan are growing year by year, I'm sure that the Zangezur Corridor will be an important transportation link connecting the continents. The Head of State also spoke about the “North-South” corridor, which originally was planned and designed, goes from North, Northern Europe, Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, and Persian Gulf.  We have full railroad and highway connection between the Russian border and the Iranian border. The missing part is on the territory of Iran. They need to build about 150 kilometers or more. Thus, the Zangezur Corridor will essentially serve not only as an East-West transport route but also as a North-South one. In addition to the North-South route from Russia to Azerbaijan and Iran, there will be another route—from Russia through Azerbaijan, Armenia, Nakhchivan, and Iran. So it will be, I think, a win-win situation for the whole region, and there will be no losers.

The President spoke about a quadrilateral agreement between Azerbaijan, Syria, Turkiye, and Qatar on assisting Syria in converting natural gas into electricity. The launch ceremony for this initiative was held on August 2. Azerbaijani gas, through Türkiye, is coming to Syria, and the Qatari government was so generous as to provide funds for that. So far, we have agreed on about 1.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Syria, but their demands are higher. So in the future, we can increase the volume of gas so that they experience fewer shortages. 

Touching on the energy sector, Ilham Aliyev stated that Europe is Azerbaijan’s main destination for natural gas. We provide gas to ten European countries, eight of which are EU members. By 2030, we will have guaranteed additional 8 billion cubic meters of natural gas, plus to what we have today. And the question is, how to use it and in which direction.

Besides Syria, Azerbaijan can supply gas to other countries through the Arabian Gas Pipeline or through other means, such as swaps. We are also trading energy resources. We are not only selling our own oil and gas, but also working as an international trader. So our potential is bigger than one can imagine. From this point of view, I think it is an important factor.

With respect to relations with Middle Eastern countries, primarily with members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, they are very good, very friendly, and very result-oriented. We have a strong partnership with these countries. By the way, our main investors in renewable energy are companies from the UAE and Saudi Arabia. They are already investing now.

By 2030, based on signed contracts and investments primarily from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and China, we plan to have six gigawatts of solar and wind energy. We are also actively building hydro power stations in Karabakh; almost 300 megawatts have already been created. This is an important part of relations between Azerbaijan and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, because we have fossil fuels and are also working actively on renewables. Together, we can carry out many good projects. We are focused on practical investment projects in the energy sector and other areas—such as hospitality, tourism, and agriculture,” emphasized the Head of State, noting that many of these projects are already underway. For instance, one of the leading companies of Saudi Arabia was selected by us as a partner in building a desalination plant on the Caspian shore, which will provide many opportunities for agriculture and for people. This is an important part of our foreign policy agenda. I would say that cooperation with the countries of the Persian Gulf is one of the main priorities of our foreign policy,” the President said.