The political and economic architecture of the South Caucasus is undergoing changes that could radically reshape perceptions of regional logistics. Recent statements by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan about Yerevan’s readiness to open a new route for Turkish cargo transit to Azerbaijan have become one of the first tangible signals that post-conflict recovery is moving into a stage of transport integration.
The context of this initiative is not accidental. Pashinyan’s remarks followed shortly after Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s decision to allow Armenian cargo transit through Azerbaijani territory. These two steps, taken within a short time span, indicate the gradual emergence of complementary interests—where political will begins to be reinforced by infrastructural readiness.
The route proposed by Yerevan — stretching from the Margara border crossing with Türkiye through Yeghegnadzor, Sisian, and Goris toward the Azerbaijani border — opens the possibility of creating a new overland corridor between Türkiye and Azerbaijan. Passing through Armenia’s Syunik region, this road does more than connect three countries; it potentially changes the geo-economic configuration of the South Caucasus, linking Eastern Anatolia with East Zangazur and Karabakh.
The technical implementation of such a project appears more realistic today than just a few years ago. Azerbaijan has been actively developing transport infrastructure in the territories restored under its sovereignty, particularly in the East Zangazur region. Dozens of kilometers of modern highways, tunnels, bridges, and airports have already been completed, laying the groundwork for the transition from national to inter-regional logistics.
A central element of this infrastructure is the international airport in Lachin, commissioned in 2025. Located at an altitude of about 1,700 meters, it connects the previously hard-to-reach mountain districts with the country’s main road network. Its 3,000-meter runway allows it to handle heavy cargo aircraft, turning Lachin into not merely a regional but a strategic logistics hub.
The network of highways linking Lachin with Agbend, Gubadli, Kalbajar, and Goygol transforms the area into a crossroads of transport axes leading toward Zangilan and further to the Iranian border. Gradually, the transport map of the region is taking shape as a system in which each segment complements the next, creating a continuous communication space stretching from the Caspian Sea to the Turkish frontier.
Against this background, Armenia’s initiative appears less as a challenge and more as an opportunity. It reflects a growing understanding in Yerevan that participation in regional logistics can serve not as a form of political dependency but as a tool of economic survival. After decades of isolation, Armenia gains a real chance to join the transit flows on which its future development may depend.
For Türkiye, the new route represents an alternative land connection to Azerbaijan that bypasses Nakhchivan. This not only reduces transportation costs but also strengthens Ankara’s influence within the South Caucasus transport sphere. Simultaneously, it reinforces the Ankara–Baku partnership, which has already become the main driver of regional logistical integration.
For Azerbaijan, the realization of such projects consolidates its role as a key actor in shaping the new map of Eurasian transport corridors. East Zangazur is emerging as a platform where the interests of neighboring states intersect with broader geo-economic systems stretching from China and Central Asia to Europe.
Iran, too, shows growing interest in the emerging Agbend–Lachin–Ganja–Georgia axis, viewing it as a way to diversify its routes and strengthen ties with northern markets. In this sense, the development of South Caucasus logistics is gradually moving beyond a regional framework to become part of global trade and transit networks.
Taken together, these processes point to the formation of a new transport-logistics architecture. It includes not only roads and airports but also new understandings of borders, economic interaction, and balance of interests. Lachin becomes its symbolic center — a place where routes, states, and models of development converge.
The upcoming transformations, however, will not be simple. Issues of security, transit regimes, and international guarantees still require complex negotiations. The ability of the region to shift from political declarations to stable economic practice will depend on how these challenges are resolved. Yet the very fact that the debate over routes has moved from diplomatic backrooms to national parliaments signals a turning point.
The South Caucasus is gradually moving from a logic of division to a logic of connectivity. The lines that once separated now begin to unite. As often happens in history, economics is starting to do the work that politics has long failed to accomplish.
