By Eldar S., Special to Azerbaijan.US
Iğdır, August 21, 2025 – Tomorrow’s groundbreaking ceremony for the Kars–Iğdır–Aralık–Dilucu railway may look like just another ribbon-cutting event. In reality, it is a tectonic moment for the geopolitics of the South Caucasus.
For Azerbaijan and Turkey, this project is not only about steel tracks and concrete foundations. It is about cementing a new regional order in which connectivity bypasses the old bottlenecks — above all, Armenia. The railway, tied directly to the Zangezur Corridor, provides Baku with what it has long sought: a reliable and secure land link to Nakhchivan and, by extension, Turkey.
The implications stretch far beyond the Caucasus. Once operational, the east–west transport chain — Beijing to London — will flow with greater efficiency. This line strengthens Ankara’s ambition to position Turkey as a central hub on Eurasia’s supply routes, while Baku consolidates its role as a key energy and logistics actor.
Critics in Yerevan warn of “isolation.” Yet this isolation is not imposed by Ankara or Baku, but by Armenia’s own refusal, for decades, to adapt to new realities. The Zangezur Corridor, and projects like the Kars–Iğdır–Dilucu railway, signal that the region is moving forward with or without Armenia’s consent.
By bypassing obstacles and opening direct lines, Azerbaijan and Turkey are not just building infrastructure — they are laying the foundation for a new balance of power. One that is dictated less by frozen conflicts and more by trade, transit, and strategic partnership.
History will record August 22 in Iğdır not as a simple groundbreaking, but as the day a corridor turned from concept into concrete reality.
