Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev reiterated demands on January 28 for Armenia to open a land corridor connecting Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave, escalating tensions between the two South Caucasus nations. Speaking at a meeting with government officials in Baku, Aliyev accused Armenia of failing to comply with a key provision of the 2020 Russian-brokered ceasefire agreement that ended the Nagorno-Karabakh war.

“Armenia must fulfill its obligations and ensure unhindered passage from Azerbaijan to Azerbaijan,” Aliyev said, referring to the clause that calls for rail and road links through Armenia’s Syunik province, which borders Iran. The provision stipulates that Russian border guards would oversee the movement of people, vehicles and goods, but Armenia insists it retains the right to conduct its own border checks.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has pushed back against Aliyev’s demands, promoting his government’s Crossroads of Peace initiative, which envisions mutual control of transport infrastructure between the two countries. Pashinyan has repeatedly stated that the 2020 agreement only calls for conventional transport links and does not exempt Azerbaijani traffic from Armenian border controls.

Aliyev dismissed the Armenian proposal as “not worth a penny” and accused Yerevan of misleading the international community. “The Armenian side continues to manipulate the situation,” he said, adding that Baku has made its position clear to Yerevan.

The exchange comes amid heightened fears of renewed military conflict. Armenian officials have warned that Azerbaijan could launch another offensive after hosting the COP29 climate summit in November 2024. Aliyev’s threats to forcibly open the so-called Zangezur corridor have further fueled concerns, with Pashinyan urging Baku to respond to Armenia’s “very concrete proposal” on the issue, presented during talks in October.

Domestic critics of Pashinyan, as well as some analysts, view Aliyev’s rhetoric as part of a broader strategy to pressure Armenia into concessions. “Azerbaijan is using the corridor issue as a pretext to assert dominance,” said Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan, a Yerevan-based political analyst. “The risk of escalation remains high, especially if diplomatic efforts fail.”

As tensions simmer, the international community has called for restraint, but with Russia’s influence waning and regional dynamics shifting, the path to a lasting resolution remains uncertain.