(MENAFN) A Spanish outlet has reported that Armenia has secretly agreed to hand over a strategic part of its territory to the US. According to the report, a leaked memorandum proposes creating a 42-kilometer corridor through southern Armenia that would connect Azerbaijan with its exclave Nakhchivan. This corridor would be managed by a US company and guarded by about 1,000 armed private contractors authorized to use force to maintain its security, with the arrangement set to last 99 years. The memorandum is claimed to have been approved by Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the US.

Periodista Digital calls this a “catastrophe” for Armenia, suggesting it would benefit the US and Armenia’s regional rivals Azerbaijan and Türkiye, while damaging Armenia’s ties with France.

However, the Armenian government strongly denied the report, labeling it “hybrid warfare and manipulative propaganda” and dismissing the source as unreliable. The US and Azerbaijan have not made any statements on the matter.

Currently, Yerevan and Baku are in talks to normalize relations, with Azerbaijan insisting on a transport corridor to Nakhchivan. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has rejected this demand, emphasizing the need for solutions based on mutual respect for territorial integrity and equality.

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