Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev pose during a signing ceremony in Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan September 25, 2023. REUTERS./

 – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said the so-called Zangezur trade corridor passing through Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran must be completed, broadcasters reported on Tuesday, a day after he met Azerbaijan’s leader.

Speaking to reporters on his return flight from the Azeri exclave of Nackchivan, where he met President Ilham Aliyev, Erdogan said that if Armenia does not allow the trade corridor to pass through its territory then Iran was warm to the idea of allowing it passage through its territory.

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The Zangezur corridor aims to give Baku unimpeded access to Nakhchivan through Armenia. Both Turkey and Azerbaijan have been calling for its implementation since the Second Karabakh War in 2020.

Erdogan also said all materials required by civilians in the Karabakh region were being provided by trucks after Azerbaijan’s lightning offensive to retake control of the region last week.


(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu and Huseyin Hayatsever; Editing by Jonathan Spicer)