This article is part of a partnership with OC Media. You can read the original in English here.
Telecom Armenia and Azertelecom have signed agreements on the mutual routing of internet traffic through each other’s territories. According to RFE/RL, this will allow Azerbaijan to establish internet connectivity with the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic using Armenia’s infrastructure.
The agreements were announced on Monday afternoon. Both companies stated that the document provides for the commercial transmission and transit of internet traffic through the territories of the two countries.
In virtually identical statements, Telecom Armenia and Azertelecom noted that they are expanding the number of countries and the geography of international internet traffic, “ensuring transit to Azerbaijan through [their] own infrastructure.”
According to RFE/RL, Telecom Armenia did not specify what payment it would receive from Azertelecom for the use of its infrastructure. The outlet also quoted the company’s deputy director, Aram Barseghyan, who stated that before the agreement is launched, it must receive approval from the National Security Service of Armenia (NSS).
Barseghyan specified that the connections will be set up in the settlements of Kornidzor and Yeraskh. Kornidzor is located in eastern Armenia, near the border with Azerbaijan and the Lachin district. Yeraskh is in the west of the country, near the border with Turkey and Nakhchivan. He also noted that the Azerbaijani side will not connect to Armenian networks or data, but will only be able to use the cable infrastructure at speeds of up to 100 gigabits per second.
“The cable does not enter Armenia; it is laid at the border, as is the case with Georgia, Turkey, and Iran. Everyone lays their own cable, they connect right at the border, and the line goes from point A to point B,” Barseghyan told RFE/RL.
“This is not the internet as such, but a transit channel through which traffic passes […] We are not selling them Armenian internet or any data from Armenia. We are merely providing a transit capability so that traffic can pass from Nakhchivan to Azerbaijan and back,” he added, calling it a “significant strategic advantage.”
According to him, the agreement was concluded “within the logic of the TRIPP project,” though it is not a direct part of it.
TRIPP (the so-called “Trump Route”) is a major infrastructure project agreed upon by Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the US. It involves connecting Azerbaijan with Nakhchivan through Armenian territory, including the construction of power lines and gas pipelines.
A cybersecurity expert, who wished to remain anonymous, explained to OC Media that internet service providers generally route traffic through international pathways and other countries.
“If internet traffic passes through your provider, it can indeed be analyzed. Not in the sense of ‘reading your Signal messages,’ but rather in the sense of ‘seeing how much you use Facebook,'” he noted.
At the same time, the expert emphasized that Armenia already routes part of its traffic through other countries, as “no one exists in a vacuum.”
“Such changes are harmless in most cases, but they can sometimes be problematic. For example, 10 years ago, Ukraine routed a significant portion of its traffic through Russia,” he added.
Amid discussions about the agreement’s potential security implications, geopolitical analyst Dionis Cenusa wrote on X that “the more connections created between countries, the less likely conflicts between them become.”
“It is this very formula that made the EU a peace project and protected Europe from wars between member states,” he noted.
At the same time, he emphasized that despite the importance of steps toward normalization, Armenia must take into account that Azerbaijan remains a state with authoritarian tendencies. He also added that Armenia is surrounded by several countries with similar political characteristics and needs to diversify and develop its connectivity.