The United States on Tuesday vowed to press ahead with a planned road-rail corridor project to run through Armenia and connect Azerbaijan with its exclave of Nakhchivan. As reported by AFP, this promise was made during the short visit of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Yerevan, where he stopped on his way back from a four-day trip to India.
- The United States has promised to continue the road-rail corridor project through Armenia.
- Marco Rubio and Ararat Mirzoyan initialed a document on the next steps of the TRIPP project.
During a technical refueling stop in Armenia – a former Soviet republic that has long been an ally of Moscow but seeks closer ties with the West – Rubio met with his Armenian counterpart, Ararat Mirzoyan. Together, they initialed a document on the next steps in a project known as Trump’s Pathway for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP).
The TRIPP corridor is key
“This agreement represents the biggest step yet to make this historic route a reality, to promote peace and increase prosperity in Armenia and, frankly, the entire region,” Rubio said at the signing ceremony at Yerevan airport.
The text of the agreement has not been published, and it is not yet clear what concrete steps the two countries will take next.
The head of American diplomacy also signed agreements on the renewal of strategic partnership and cooperation in the so-called critical minerals, which – given China’s dominance in this sector – are a priority for Washington.
Critical Minerals Strategy
“We are building the foundation for an economic relationship that will allow Armenians to earn and prosper and Americans to do the same — together,” Rubio said. At the same time, he added that this is being done “in a way that respects your sovereignty as a state.”
Mirzoyan expressed hope that the agreements will be put into practice, calling them “really beneficial for the Republic of Armenia.”
In January, the US State Department outlined a plan in which Yerevan would give the United States a 74 percent stake in the TRIPP Development Company, with US firms benefiting from it.
Geopolitical changes in the region
Armenia has been a longtime ally of Russia, but relations soured after Moscow failed to prevent a blitzkrieg offensive by Azerbaijan in 2023, which reclaimed the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government subsequently froze participation in the Collective Security Treaty Organization and indicated an interest in joining the EU, which drew criticism from Russia.
At the same time, Armenia balances between the West and Iran, with which it has long-term correct relations, especially in the context of tensions between the USA and Israel with Tehran. That is why Yerevan repeatedly assures the Islamic Republic that the planned TRIPP corridor will remain under its sovereignty and will not be under the control of the United States.
