CONTEXT: GEOPOLITICAL RELEVANCE & INDIA’S INTEREST

• The Zangezur Corridor gained attention after a recent high-level meeting in New Delhi between Armenia’s Security Council Secretary and India’s National Security Advisor.
• India’s interest is driven by concerns over regional strategic balance, connectivity, and its growing ties with Armenia, which opposes the corridor.
• The corridor is part of a broader geopolitical contest in the South Caucasus, involving Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey, Russia, and increasingly India and Iran.

CONCEPT: WHAT IS THE ZANGEZUR CORRIDOR?

• The Zangezur Corridor is a proposed transport link meant to connect mainland Azerbaijan to its exclave Nakhchivan, bypassing Armenia’s Syunik Province.
• Zangezur region, currently in southern Armenia, has been a disputed territory between Armenia and Azerbaijan since World War I.
• It would be integrated into:
  • Azerbaijan’s Horadiz-Agbend road and rail network.
  • Turkey’s Nakhchivan-Igdir-Kars infrastructure, creating a direct land route to Anatolia and eventually to Europe.

 Strategic Significance:

• Enhances Azerbaijan-Turkey trade connectivity.
• Reduces logistical costs and travel time between Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan.
• Strengthens Turkey’s influence in the South Caucasus and Turkic world via the Middle Corridor initiative.
• Could marginalize Armenia’s role in regional transit.

Broader Impact:

• Potential to link regions across Central Asia, Russia, Iran, Armenia, and Europe–Asia corridors.
• Strategic competition with Iran’s North-South Transport Corridor and may impact India-Iran-Armenia-Russia linkages.

CURRENT: STATUS & INDIA’S POSITION

• The corridor remains proposed, with Armenia strongly opposing it, viewing it as a threat to its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
• India supports Armenia’s concerns, seeing the project as a Turkish-Azerbaijani initiative that may weaken Iran and Armenia, both of which are important for India’s Eurasian connectivity plans.
• Ongoing tensions have delayed implementation, despite Azerbaijan and Turkey pushing forward.
• The South Caucasus remains volatile post the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, with regional powers competing over infrastructure and influence.