There were many rumors circulating in some media about Azerbaijan’s alleged preparations for the occupation of Zangezur. That Azerbaijan was allegedly planning to close the Iranian-Armenian border. This was an absolute lie. This was stated by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in an interview with Al Arabiya TV channel.
“We had no such intention. Let me repeat, if we wanted to do this, we would have done it in November 2020. And it would have been very easy. Even in the last five years, it was not difficult to do. After all, the route is only 40 kilometers long. From a military point of view, it would not have taken much time. You just need to come from two sides – from Nakhchivan and from the main part of Azerbaijan – and take it,” Aliyev said.
We did not do this because we are not an aggressor. Therefore, from this point of view, I believe that all the rumors that we planned to close the Armenian-Iranian border are absolutely groundless. Everyone knows this. By the way, during these five years, when Armenia “blocked the opening of the Zangezur corridor,” we agreed with the Iranian government, again at the intergovernmental level, on the construction of a bypass road through Iranian territory,” Aliyev added.