Mainland Azerbaijan will be connected to Nakhichevan through Iran, Azerbaijan’s foreign minister Jeyhun Bayramov said on Tuesday.
“Azerbaijan has an alternative route to connect with Nakhichevan through the Aras[x] River, bypassing Armenia. For this purpose, according to the agreement with Iran, Baku has already started the construction of the first bridge over the Aras[x] River,” Bayramov added, reported the Turkish Turan news agency.
Bayramov then blamed Armenia for what he called “dragging its feet” on fulfilling its responsibilities in regards to the so-called “Zangezur Corridor”—the scheme being advanced by Baku to connect Azerbaijan with Nakhichevan through Armenia.
Yerevan has long voiced its opposition to such a corridor and Azerbaijan and Turkey have made it precondition for normalizing relations with Armenia.
Bayramov said that Azerbaijan is “simply providing an opportunity to Armenia so it is not left out of regional cooperation elements. If Yerevan makes the wrong decision, it will then damage itself.”