Possible effects of the Zangezur Corridor on foreign trade between Turkey and Turkic Republics

With the mediation of Russia, the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War between Azerbaijan and Armenia ended with the signing of a ceasefire. With Article 9 of this agreement, opening of the Zangezur Corridor is on the agenda. The Zangezur Corridor is not only important for Azerbaijan but also for Turkey and the countries in the region. In this study, the possible effects of the Zengezur Corridor, which will provide a land line between Turkey and the Turkic Republics are analyzed. In addition, the study is important because it is a source that can benefit the academic studies that will be carried out after the Corridor and reveal the strategic and political effects that the Corridor will bring about in the region. Since the Since the Zangezur corridor is not yet active, exact data has not been obtained, and since the possible effects of the corridor have been discussed, expert opinions on the subject have been received through a survey. The aspects observed as a result of the analysis are: Zangezur Corridor can increase political, military and commercial cooperation and the positive working climate and strong cooperation. The activation of the Corridor will significantly shorten the distance within the region, expand the network of access to natural resources in the region and create a new energy corridor. On the other hand, in our study, shows that the Corridor could significantly change the current geopolitical balance in the Caucasus and contribute to the development of new relations between the countries of the region. Moreover, the opening of the Zangezur Corridor, which is located on the route of transit telecommunication lines originating from China, is estimated to provide a very important technological opportunity. With the opening of this Corridor, developments in the field of transportation and communication can contribute to the increase in accessibility between Turkey and Azerbaijan and beyond the Turkic Republics, the emergence of new projects and investments through inter-country cooperation, the development of tourism, the revival of social and cultural structure, and thus the increase in social welfare. However, the lack of a clear plan for the Corridor, limits access to concrete and robust data. In fact, in such a limited context, our study emphasizes the importance of the Zangezur Corridor and sheds light on future studies