Armenia has turned down a U.S. proposal to lease and presumably operate a key roadway through the country’s southern Syunik Province, senior officials confirmed on Friday. The route, which would connect mainland Azerbaijan to its exclave of Nakhchivan, has been one of the most sensitive issues in continuing Armenia-Azerbaijan peace talks. Armenian legislators say the American idea promised new security guarantees and international investment but ultimately clashed with constitutional limits on ceding control over territory. “Any arrangement that dilutes the republic’s jurisdiction is a red line,” a government source told reporters.
According to OC Media, “Armenia says it rejected US lease over road in Syunik over sovereignty concerns,” ruling Civil Contract MP Arman Yeghoyan revealed that Washington recently floated a formal lease option. Yeghoyan, who chairs parliament’s European Integration Committee, told Factor TV that the government perceived “a danger of conceding sovereignty.” He also dismissed what he called “false rumours spread by Russia” that American troops would patrol the route. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan later confirmed that a broader U.S. plan aimed at “unblocking regional transit links” had reached his desk. Still, he insisted that any foreign operator would act strictly in accordance with Armenian law.
Corridor Politics Roil Peace Process
The discarded lease proposal emerges amid fragile negotiations over reopening Soviet-era roads that have been shuttered since the first Nagorno-Karabakh war. Baku argues that unhindered passage for its citizens and cargo is an essential confidence-building measure; Yerevan fears that a lightly monitored corridor could become a security risk or an economic lever. President Ilham Aliyev warned on 19 July that “our cargo and citizens should not see the face of an Armenian border guard there every time,” demanding a corridor free of Armenian checkpoints. Armenian officials reply that they “cannot be unaware of who enters [their] territory,” saying lax control would invite smuggling and trafficking.
Moscow’s Growing Disquiet
Russia, traditionally the region’s power broker, is bristling at Washington’s expanding role. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Thursday that Western initiatives seek to “transfer the process of reconciliation to their tracks.” She argued that the lease concept merely repackages agreements reached in the trilateral working group, co-chaired by the Russian, Armenian, and Azerbaijani deputy prime ministers, after the 2020 war. Moscow blames what it calls Western “destructive influence” for stalling that forum.
U.S. Hints and Armenian Precedents
American diplomats have spoken cautiously in public. Earlier this month, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack cited the possibility of a U.S. “takeover” of the corridor as a hypothetical solution. However, State Department officials later characterized his remarks as informal brainstorming. Pashinyan has sought to reassure skeptics by pointing to past concessions, including the French-run Zvartnots International Airport, Veolia’s water network contract, and Russia’s operation of Armenian Railways. “Management is not ownership,” he said, arguing that precedent shows outsourced services can coexist with complete sovereignty.
What Happens Next
Analysts in Yerevan predict that Armenia will continue to explore third-party monitoring schemes—perhaps under an EU or OSCE mandate—while resisting any model that resembles an extraterritorial corridor. Baku, meanwhile, is expected to press for a demilitarized roadway before finalizing a bilateral peace treaty. With winter approaching and regional trade routes in flux, pressure is likely to intensify on both capitals to reach a compromise.
Photo: OC Media