8 August 2025, Brussels-The recent developments in negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan has once again highlighted the unbalanced nature of the so-called normalization process between the two countries.
Refraining from calling the road a “corridor” does not negate the danger it poses for Armenia’s sovereignty. As President Aliyev has repeatedly stated, the idea of this corridor was introduced by Azerbaijan following the November 9/10, 2020 tripartite statement — a document which, notably, spoke only of an *unimpeded connection between Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and Armenia*, not a corridor for Azerbaijan across Armenian territory.
This did not come to fruition following Azerbaijan’s military aggression and its genocidal ethnic cleansing of the indigenous Armenian civilians of Nagorno-Karabakh, 120 000 of whom were forced to flee to Armenia and whose rights continue to be obstructed, with their churches and homes systematically being destroyed by Azerbaijan since 2020. The presented documents make no mention of their plight and offer no guarantees for their unimpeded right, recognized by international law and institutions such as the European Parliament, to return to their homeland with international security guarantees.
Not only does this represent a gross violation of human rights, but it also impedes the very nature of peace and reconciliation. Any lasting sustainable effort to ensure reconciliation must ensure that the perpetrators of human rights violations are punished. The negotiations so far, and continued concessions by the Armenian side, do the opposite, they reward them.
If peace is truly the intention behind the granting of a passage between Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan (an enclave that also witnessed the ethnic cleansing of its Armenian population and destruction of centuries old cultural heritage), then Azerbaijan must be pressured into:
- Fully withdrawing from sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia.
- Allowing the secure and unimpeded right of collective return of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh to their homeland with international security guarantees.
- The release of all the Armenian hostages facing sham trials in Baku.
- Lifting of all border restrictions by Azerbaijan and its ally Turkey which would allow Armenia to fully participate in the developments of trade routs in the region, negating the need for a special corridor solely for the benefit of Azerbaijan.
As mentioned, the opening if this corridor implies unilateral concessions by Armenia while many issues on the rights of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh remain unanswered. It also presents multiple challenges for Armenia’s sovereignty while failing to include measures that protects Armenia’s commercial interest.
These challenges require the intention of all great powers invested in the region and their mediation to promote lasting measures. Therefore, the dissolution of the Minsk group is counterproductive and would further isolate the Armenian side, continuously under military threat by Azerbaijan.
President Aliyev has not stopped his Armenophobic and aggressive rhetoric against the sovereignty of Armenia and uses the threat of military violence to demand further concessions from the Republic. The OSCE Minsk group format is thus necessary to ensure fair and balanced mediation between the two countries.
Appeasing Aliyev and agreeing to continuous concessions has not prevented him from using military force, in fact it has emboldened him into using military threat as its main negotiating asset. Legitimizing this tactic is an afront to international law, human rights and the aspirations of the people in the region for peace.
