Azernews.Az

The United States has confirmed its proposal to take over management of the long-contested Zangazur Corridor between Armenia and Azerbaijan, in a bid to break the deadlock in peace negotiations between the two countries, according to remarks by U.S. Ambassador to Türkiye Tom Barrack, as reported by Azernews via Middle East Eye.

For a peace deal, one of the core points of contention remains Armenia’s refusal to recognize or use the term Zangazur Corridor, which it views as a challenge to its territorial sovereignty over the Syunik region. Azerbaijan, however, has made clear that it cannot accept the route remaining under Armenia’s full control due to concerns over long-term accessibility and security.

The proposed 32-kilometer corridor would connect mainland Azerbaijan with its exclave Nakhchivan via southern Armenia, facilitating strategic trade and transit across the South Caucasus. But disagreement over the corridor’s status and oversight has significantly slowed progress on the peace deal.

"They are arguing over 32 kilometers of road, but this is no trivial matter. It has dragged on for a decade—32 kilometers of road," Ambassador Barrack stated during a briefing in New York.

“So what happens is that America steps in and says: ‘Okay, we’ll take it over. Give us the 32 kilometers of road on a hundred-year lease, and you can all share it’,” he added, confirming for the first time that the Trump administration had floated a proposal for U.S. management through a neutral commercial operator.

The idea reportedly follows a model discussed earlier by the EU, in which a private logistics company would oversee transit on the corridor while transparently sharing data with both Baku and Yerevan.

Barrack's comments mark the first official confirmation that the Trump administration offered to manage the corridor through a private US commercial operator, which would serve as a neutral guarantor.

A recent report by Carnegie Endowment suggested that the plan is modelled on an earlier European Union proposal, which would put a US logistics firm in charge of managing and monitoring cargo transit along the route, sharing data transparently with all parties.

The report noted that the proposal draws on precedents of international oversight in Georgia’s breakaway regions, aiming to address Baku's demand for robust, long-term security guarantees while preserving Yerevan’s sovereignty over the corridor.

A regional source cited by Middle East Eye revealed that Türkiye originally proposed the idea of an international company managing the corridor, but Armenia’s condition that the same company operate on the Nakhchivan side proved unacceptable to Baku.

The corridor remains a vital piece of the Middle Corridor initiative that aims to link Türkiye to Central Asia through the South Caucasus, bypassing Russia and Iran. Turkish businesses are also eager to engage in Armenia’s reconstruction and infrastructure development, contingent on normalization.

The future of the Zangazur Corridor—and broader regional integration—still hinges on whether Armenia will concede to a shared or international oversight mechanism. Until then, the corridor remains the single most significant obstacle to lasting peace between Baku and Yerevan.