Turkey Starts Building Kars-Nakhijevan Railway Linked to so-called ‘Zangezur Corridor’

Turkey has begun building a new railway line that Ankara says will one day link directly with the so-called “Zangezur Corridor,” a project long demanded by Azerbaijan. This comes as Armenia faces new pressure after talks in Washington led by the United States.

The planned Turkish railway will connect the city of Kars with Nakhijevan. Historically, Kars had a significant Armenian population during the late Ottoman period, before the Armenian Genocide. Turkish Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu described the project as “one of the clearest steps in the implementation of the Zangezur corridor.” The line will be 224 kilometers long, include tunnels, bridges, viaducts, and crossings, and is expected to carry millions of passengers and cargo by 2029.

This announcement follows agreements signed at the White House earlier in August between U.S. President Donald Trump, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. As part of those talks, Pashinyan accepted a plan to establish what has been called the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP). This route is supposed to connect Azerbaijan with Nakhijevan through Armenia’s Syunik province.

Aliyev celebrated the outcome, calling it a “historic achievement” for Azerbaijan. For years, Baku has demanded a corridor through southern Armenia, often describing it in terms that suggest extraterritorial control. Armenian critics warn that TRIPP could threaten sovereignty over Syunik and eventually reflect the type of corridor Aliyev has desired.

Pashinyan has rejected those accusations, saying the new route will not breach Armenia’s territorial integrity. He argued that the details of the arrangement are still under discussion. However, neither the joint Armenian-Azerbaijani declaration nor the U.S.-Armenian memorandum signed in Washington has been made public. Reports suggest the memorandum may involve a long-term U.S. lease on the transit routes.

Armenian opposition figures accuse the government of hiding crucial details. Levon Zurabyan, a senior opposition leader, said, “If [the memorandum] is not classified, why has it still not been published 12 days after its signing?”

In response to Ankara’s public push for the “Zangezur Corridor”,  Armenian Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Davit Khudatyan stated that “only infrastructure projects that are proposed, adopted, or approved by the Government of the Republic of Armenia can be implemented on the territory of the Republic of Armenia.” He pointed to Armenia’s own initiatives, including the Crossroads of Peace project and the TRIPP route, while rejecting any plan imposed from outside.

Armenia has also expressed readiness to reopen the Gyumri-Kars railway with Turkey, which could boost regional trade while maintaining Armenian control over its transport policy.

While Turkey and Azerbaijan present the project as a regional transport link, critics see the so-called Zangezur Corridor as a deliberate attempt to undermine Armenia’s sovereignty, weaken its security, and erase the Armenian presence from historic lands. They fear it could be another phase in a broader plan to isolate Armenia and expand Azerbaijani influence across the South Caucasus.

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