Turkey welcomes strategic transit corridor after Azerbaijan-Armenia peace deal

ANKARA, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Turkey on Saturday welcomed a peace accord between Azerbaijan and Armenia and said it hoped a planned strategic transit corridor, which could boost exports of energy and other resources through the South Caucasus, would open soon.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a U.S.-brokered peace accord on Friday during a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump that also included exclusive U.S. development rights to a transport corridor through Armenia, linking Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan, an Azerbaijani enclave that borders Baku's ally Turkey.

The transit corridor that would pass close to the border with Iran would be named the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity. It would be known by the acronym TRIPP, and operated under Armenian law.

NATO member Turkey has strongly backed Azerbaijan in its conflicts with Armenia but has pledged to restore ties with Yerevan after it signs a final peace deal with Baku.

Speaking in Egypt, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the corridor could "link Europe with the depths of Asia via Turkey," and it would be "a very beneficial development."

Later on Saturday, Turkey's presidency said President Tayyip Erdogan had discussed the peace agreement with Ilham Aliyev, his counterpart from Azerbaijan. Erdogan welcomed the agreement and offered Ankara's support in achieving lasting peace in the region, it said.

The agreement could transform the South Caucasus, an energy-producing region neighbouring Russia, Europe, Turkey and Iran that is criss-crossed by oil and gas pipelines but riven by closed borders - including between Turkey and Armenia - and longstanding ethnic conflicts.

Iran welcomed the agreement "as an important step toward lasting regional peace", but warned against any foreign intervention near its borders that could "undermine the region’s security and lasting stability".