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Elnur Enveroglu

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For more than 30 years, Azerbaijan has had no land connection with Nakhchivan, the biggest exclave of Azerbaijan in its south-west. The territory blockaded by Armenia has been supplied with energy through Iran for a long time, and at the same time, travel was possible only by air.

In Soviet times, two railway connections used to link Nakhchivan ASSR (Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic) with the main territory of Azerbaijan SSR. The shorter line that passed via the Zangazur region was built earlier, in 1941, whereas the Yerevan-Ijevan-Qazax line further to the north was constructed in the 1980s as an alternative route, connecting Yerevan to Baku and Russia. However, both lines have been abandoned since 1992 due to the First Garabagh War.

According to American pundit and political analyst Peter Tase, having Nakhchivan without any land connection and Armenia's holding the Azerbaijani territory under blockage is inadmissible.

"It is impossible for any nation to wait infinitely in order to have a land connection and transportation corridor with its prosperous enclave. The Republic of Azerbaijan has pursued a deeply purposeful diplomacy, and the White House and European Union have repeatedly ignored Baku’s very legitimate request to achieve this corridor that will tremendously benefit the economic integration of Eurasian nations," Tase said.

He also strongly condemned the US state administration's cold-blooded approach to Azerbaijan's recent regional problems as well as its support for Armenian separatism.

"Washington has missed the opportunity to play an impartial role in securing a peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia; above all, the current administration is harming with its incomprehensible rhetoric against the current state of security that has been achieved with many sacrifices by the People of Azerbaijan and its thriving government in Baku," the pundit added.

The American political analyst touched upon the softening of diplomatic relations between Baku and Tehran in recent days and noted that such a development of the process is considered more favourable for the region. He also considered it inadequate that the United States was against this issue.

"Normalisation of relations between Baku and Teheran should have been welcomed by the US State Department, knowing that the very same office allocated, enabled billions of US dollars to benefit the Iranian government. Going against the Baku-Teheran normalisation is inappropriate and very unsuitable for Washington," he stressed.

In addition, Peter Tase criticised US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O'Brien's action that was aimed at harming Azerbaijan and Turkiye's relations with Europe. It is sad in the truest sense of the word that the US diplomat did it under the dictates of the Armenian lobby, ignoring the fact that Azerbaijan and Turkiye are the most important and inseparable allies for Europe. Besides, Azerbaijan has been a strategic ally of the United States in the South Caucasus since its independence.

"Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs O’Brien is doing everything possible to damage the culture of pragmatic bilateral alliances between Washington and viable European partners, among them Azerbaijan and Türkiye.

Mr. O’Brien and members of US Congress, blindly defending Armenian aggressive revanchism, do not understand that we are living in Cold War II, at a time when rule of law is descending, technological complexities are prevailing globally, and PR China is emerging with its currency as a reserve currency status; these are only a few of the strategic matters that Washington cannot contain and address without building momentum together with allies such as Azerbaijan, Türkiye and the Organisation of Turkic States," the pundit concluded.

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Elnur Enveroglu is AzerNews’ Deputy Editor-in-Chief, follow him on @ElnurMammadli1

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