Transport Communications in the South Caucasus after the War in Nagorno-Karabakh

The article deals with the main problems of unblocking transport communications in the South Caucasus after the end of the Second Karabakh War. The main actors and beneficiaries of the unblocking are identified with the definition of their national transport interests. The role of Russia in the settlement of the conflict, as well as in the formation of a new geopolitical architecture in the South Caucasus is determined. Various scenarios of transport unblocking in the region are analyzed in the context of the formation of two international transport and logistics corridors – North–South and East–West. Prospects and possibilities of integration of the South Caucasus countries into the indicated corridors are considered. It is shown that the unblocking process is currently fragmented, since the main scenarios for its implementation are built only on the prospects for restoring transport links in certain directions, which does not allow to speak now about the ongoing policy of a comprehensive unblocking of communications in the region. The main problems of using the existing transport arteries, in particular, the international highway Goris–Kapan, are studied.