No one knows how to so decisively and irrevocably dot the "I" as the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, does. This is what strong politicians do, confident in their abilities, who have serious weight on the world stage and are able to influence processes. Therefore, his words are always expected, and not only in Azerbaijan. There is no doubt that what the Azerbaijani leader said in an interview with Al Arabiya TV channel (Saudi Arabia) will also be carefully studied, and conclusions and forecasts about the region will be drawn based on his words.

It is no secret that today the whole world is closely watching the processes unfolding around the Zangezur Corridor, or, as it is now called, the Trump Route. The agreement reached in Washington, and especially the involvement of the American side in the project, came as a big surprise to everyone. Experts are amazed by the abrupt change in official Yerevan's position and the transformation of Nikol Pashinyan into a zealous supporter of the project. Everyone understands whose merit this is and what a huge and hard work Baku is behind all this. It's such a masterly way to solve a problem that, as many believed, was basically unsolvable. After the Washington summit, completely new realities emerged, and forces came to the region that even the most sophisticated analysts did not expect here. Everything has changed, and has changed for the better, opening up a lot of opportunities to transform this geographical space into a space of cooperation and mutual understanding. 

The leaders of the countries, if they are guided by the interests of their states and economic benefits, and not by absurd political narratives, cannot fail to see that Azerbaijan is trying not only for its own sake. Yes, he tries for himself first of all, but he proceeds from considerations of the interconnectedness of all processes in the region and the enormous advantages of common benefit. And the Zangezur corridor is beneficial to everyone. There is not a single country whose interests the project would play against. The insinuations spread so far do not stand up to criticism, completely contradicting the realities that are in front of everyone's eyes.

The position of the Islamic Republic of Iran is particularly noteworthy in this context. The current leadership of the country has abandoned the policy of denial and threats regarding the communications project through Western Zangezur. This is a very wise approach, which began to manifest itself shortly after the election of Masoud Peseshkian as President of Iran. There is a sincere dialogue and mutual understanding between the leaders of Azerbaijan and Iran today. As President Ilham Aliyev said, "our personal relations and the relations between our administrations are very constructive and very friendly. As for Iran's official position on the new developments, we consider it very reasonable and very positive. By "official position," I mean the position of the President and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. This is the official position."

To the journalist's clarifying question, the head of state replied bluntly that Baku takes into account the position of politicians elected by the people, and not some former officials who are now called advisers.

As everyone understands, we are talking about advisers who have become the mouthpiece of the radical wing of the Iranian government. While President Peseshkian talks about the importance of the Zangezur corridor for Iran and the absence of any threats to Iran, bad advisers say that Tehran will never allow the construction of these communications.

Radical circles, even ahead of Yerevan, were the first to declare mythical threats to Armenia's territorial integrity and Iran's interests. This is the position that Tehran officially adhered to under the previous leadership. After the Iranian people elected Masoud Pezeshkian as their president, the office of the supreme leader in the person of Vilayati took over the task of slowing down the project. But Baku has made it clear to the Iranian side who it will work with in the region. And this is important for every politician in this geography after 2020, because the authority of Azerbaijan and its leader has increased significantly.

"This position is absolutely not important to us," President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview with Al-Arabiya, referring to the opponents of the Zangezur road in Iran. - It has no meaning for us, because our interstate relations are relations between governments, between presidents, between foreign ministers. Therefore, we completely ignore these false narratives spread by the so-called advisers. Everything is clear to us. The President's position is absolutely reasonable and is based on the fact that the Zangezur corridor poses no threat to Iran."

It should be recalled that Mr. Peseshkian recently stated that "this corridor will also be beneficial to Iran," that "the situation around the corridor is not as dramatic as it is presented," and that "all parties take into account Iran's demands." 

The objections to the Zangezur corridor from Iran and Armenia were illogical and unsupported by facts. Azerbaijan was accused of intending to seize Zangezur by force to lay roads. However, Baku has never even hinted at such a possibility. Elementary logic suggests that if Azerbaijan had such a plan, it would have been implemented even before the signing of the capitulation by Yerevan. The Azerbaijani army simply would not have stopped at the border, that's all. When asked if Azerbaijan has such a force, the Azerbaijani leader confidently replied: yes, of course, it does, and everyone knows about it. "And even those who give bad advice know that we have such power," he said.

Azerbaijan has a historical right to insist on the construction of communications to Nakhchivan. The President briefly touched upon the history of the issue, which the audience of the Saudi TV channel is unlikely to know about. Once upon a time, "mainland" Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan were one, until the Soviet government donated Azerbaijani lands to Armenia. Before the collapse of the USSR, from the point of view of remoteness, autonomy did not create problems, because the republics were part of a single country. But with the beginning of the Armenian aggression, the connection was cut off. The Armenian side dismantled the railway and sold it for scrap. Moreover, during the years of occupation, part of the route running along the Azerbaijani-Iranian border was also destroyed.

Azerbaijan is already completing the construction of a railway line on its territory, which has almost reached the Armenian border. In the five post-war years, Armenia has not taken a single step towards restoring communications.

The Washington meeting and the participation of US President Donald Trump in resolving the issue became the final stage in Azerbaijan's long and persistent struggle for its right to have a direct connection with Nakhchivan.

Those who have been biding their time in Armenia and those who give bad advice in Iran are actually acting against the interests of their countries. Nikol Pashinyan spent a lot of time promoting the stillborn "crossroads of the world", which could have been spent on restoring communications. Without the restoration of communications in Western Zangezur, that is, without Azerbaijan, Armenia will not be able to become a transit country. Today, Nikol Pashinyan has come to this truth.

As for Iran, the country, which has been isolated due to the fault of radical circles that have not been able to find a common language with the world for fifty years, needs access to wide markets. In an interview with the Saudi channel, the Azerbaijani leader literally explained on his fingers why the Zangezur corridor is not a threat to Iran, but a great opportunity. In particular, the appearance of this route will in no way hinder the development of the North-South corridor, but, on the contrary, will enrich it with additional opportunities.  In fact, the Zangezur corridor will become an alternative North-South route, albeit not a direct one.

"What can happen to the communication between the North and the South? It can pass through Zangezur. Again, if you present a map, the route may stretch from Northern Europe to Russia, to Azerbaijan, and then from Azerbaijan to Zangezur, then to Nakhchivan, and from Nakhchivan there is a railway connection with Iran, which runs to the Persian Gulf. So in fact, the Zangezur corridor will be not only an East-West transport corridor, but also a North-South transport corridor. And instead of one North-South route from Russia to Iran through Azerbaijan, we will have another one - from Russia to Azerbaijan, Armenia, Nakhchivan and further to Iran. So, I think this will be a winning situation for the entire region, and there will be no losers here," President Ilham Aliyev said.

This is the policy of the Azerbaijani leader in general - to resolve issues in such a way that there are no losers in them. Azerbaijan will always respect exclusively its national strategic interests only in matters of territorial integrity and security. When it comes to economics, communications and logistics, the issue of mutual interests of neighbors and partners becomes fundamental. Projects work successfully only when all the parties involved are interested in this success. And this requires good relations with all neighbors and their neighbors' neighbors.

Azerbaijan acts based on this principle. It was understood in Armenia, it was understood in Iran.