The Problem of the “Zangezur Corridor” in the Modern Politics of Iran and Russia in the South Caucasus

For many decades, the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan was one of the most important processes in Transcaucasia. He had the most direct influence on both the geopolitical and trade and economic situation in the region. In addition, the protracted nature of the confrontation and the inability of Yerevan and Baku to find common ground have become the main obstacle to the development of regional logistics. Therefore, the events that have unfolded in Nagorno-Karabakh since 2020 and the subsequent reconciliation between the conflicting parties have raised the hope among many that all problems will soon become a thing of the past. At the same time, it has recently become obvious that a number of regional players have decided to take advantage of the current situation. In this case, we are talking about Iran, which is making every effort to increase its regional status, including through new trade, economic and logistics projects. One of them could be the so-called “Araks Corridor” or “Iranian Path”, which should finally bury the idea of building the long-suffering “Zangezur Corridor”. And this is especially important at the present stage for Iran’s foreign trade and economic policy, when, on the one hand, there is a process of relative stabilization in the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, and, on the other, Iranian-Russian relations in the region are developing. The purpose of this article is to study the modern policies of Iran and Russia in the South Caucasus, in particular their position regarding the problem of the “Zangezur Corridor” in the context of a slight weakening of the confrontation between Armenia and Azerbaijan.