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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor

Iran and Russia stand to lose from US deal with Azerbaijan and Armenia

Trump with Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev (left) and Armenia’s Nikol Pashinyan.
Trump with Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev (left) and Armenia’s Nikol Pashinyan. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

Iran expressed concern about foreign interference on Saturday, fearing it had been carved out of a declaration brokered by Donald Trump between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The two countries have come closer to ending 35 years of enmity by signing a peace treaty in Washington and agreeing to a US private consortium taking control of a strategic corridor on Iran’s border.

The corridor passing through southern Armenia will link Azerbaijan with its exclave Nakhchivan, a longstanding demand of Baku. The US will operate the corridor under Armenian sovereignty on a 99-year land lease, changing the balance of power in the region. Some Iranian commentators claimed the deal amounts to “Iran’s geopolitical suffocation in the region”.

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