Armenia and Azerbaijan agree internet transit deal: opportunities and risks. View from Yerevan

Internet traffic transit through Armenia and Azerbaijan

Armenian telecom operator Team Telecom and Azerbaijan’s AzerTelecom have signed a bilateral agreement to route internet traffic through each other’s territory. The arrangement will allow Azerbaijan to connect with its exclave of Nakhchivan through Armenia’s telecommunications infrastructure.

Telecom Armenia described the project as a commercial venture. The company did not disclose how much Azerbaijan will pay for the service.

According to Deputy Director Aram Barseghyan, the agreement will move forward once Armenia’s National Security Service grants approval. He stressed that Azerbaijan will gain access only to the cable infrastructure and not to the data transmitted through it.

Some Armenian experts nevertheless see potential risks. They point in particular to the possibility of traffic analysis. At the same time, most agree that the deal could create new opportunities for Armenia.

Information security expert Samvel Martirosyan says the route will carry not only Azerbaijani traffic but also data from Kazakhstan.

“Armenia already handles around 10–15% of the traffic that passes through Team Telecom’s cable network. In practice, the company plays a significant role in the region as a transit operator.

“As you know, north-south routes already run through Armenia, carrying traffic from countries across the Middle East. Now Armenia is also emerging as a player on the east-west corridor,” Martirosyan said.

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Telecom Armenia expands its reach

Team Telecom says the agreement with AzerTelecom will allow it to broaden the number of countries that receive international internet traffic through its own infrastructure. The company describes itself as a leading transit operator in the region.

According to Team Telecom, the agreement aims to promote:

• the diversification of regional connectivity routes;
• greater reliability of telecommunications networks;
• deeper cooperation in the telecommunications sector.

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“The agreement fits the logic of the TRIPP corridor”

Aram Barseghyan, deputy director of Telecom Armenia, said the agreement aligns with the logic of the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) project, although it is “not formally part of it”.

According to Aram Barseghyan, the Azerbaijani side will gain access to a cable with a capacity of 100 gigabits per second.

He said the network connections will link up at Kornidzor and Yeraskh, along the border rather than through populated areas.

“The cable does not enter Armenia. It runs along the border, just as similar connections do with Georgia, Turkey and Iran. Each country brings its own cable to the border. The cables are then spliced together at the crossing point, creating a route from point A to point B.”

The Telecom Armenia executive stressed that the company will provide a transit channel rather than internet services. Azerbaijan, he said, will continue to use its own internet infrastructure.

“We are not selling them Armenian data or any service originating in Armenia. We are simply providing a route that allows them to move from point A to point B through our network.”

Barseghyan argues that providing a transit corridor between Nakhchivan and mainland Azerbaijan represents a strategic advantage for Armenia.

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Expert reactions

According to information security specialist Artur Papyan, Team Telecom imports large volumes of internet traffic into Armenia and also exports traffic to other markets. The company resells part of that capacity to Iraq and other countries across the Middle East.

“Nakhchivan is largely isolated from the outside world. Of course, it already has communication links through Turkey and Iran. But against the backdrop of the Israel-Iran conflict, it is only logical that Nakhchivan would want to diversify its internet connections,” he said.

Papyan said representatives of the Armenian company told him that traffic transit would operate at the DWDM network layer, effectively creating a physical connection between two points.

“Azerbaijani data will pass through our channel at the DWDM network level. We also have the option of using Azerbaijani infrastructure ourselves, but we have no plans to do so.”

The expert argues that Armenia, which aims to establish itself as a major IT hub, needs to diversify its connectivity routes.

He dismisses concerns about large-scale surveillance through cooperation with an Azerbaijani company as “absurd”.

According to Papyan, such monitoring would require enormous computing resources.

“Targeted attacks, such as Pegasus, are far more effective. A real risk would arise only if Armenia became completely dependent on Azerbaijani transit channels.”

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Information security expert Ruben Muradyan nevertheless sees risks arising from the possibility that Armenian traffic could pass through Azerbaijani infrastructure.

He notes that the agreement also allows Armenian traffic to travel through AzerTelecom’s network. As a result, “traffic routed through AzerTelecom infrastructure could be analysed”.

Muradyan stresses that, in most cases, encryption protocols such as TLS prevent third parties from reading the content of communications. However, he argues that other risks remain.

“AzerTelecom will have the ability to run Armenian traffic through DPI systems. That would allow it to profile and analyse the behaviour of Armenian users. The issue is not access to the actual data being transmitted but access to connection metadata.”

He believes that individuals and organisations using fixed IP addresses could face the greatest exposure.

“AzerTelecom would gain additional opportunities to carry out BGP route poisoning attacks, redirecting targeted traffic through its own networks. At this stage, these risks primarily affect Team Telecom customers. I do not believe in absolute security.”

For that reason, Muradyan urged politicians, journalists and NGO representatives to consider “using a VPN on a permanent basis across all devices”.

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Internet traffic transit through Armenia and Azerbaijan