Trump Route construction to start in 2026, MFA says

PanARMENIAN.Net - The construction and implementation stage of the Trump Route project (TRIPP) is set to start in 2026, Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said, Sputnik Armenia reports.

The ministry explained that Armenia has already held intensive negotiations with U.S. partners on shaping the legal framework and regulatory arrangements for the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity project.

According to the Foreign Ministry, TRIPP Company, a joint Armenian-American enterprise, will be registered in Armenia and granted the right to develop the necessary infrastructure for railways, roads, oil and gas pipelines, as well as fiber-optic cables.

Armenia has already viewed the implementation of the Trump Route project as a component of the government’s Crossroads of Peace initiative, which is fully aligned with major infrastructure programs aimed at enhancing regional connectivity, including the Middle Corridor and the Persian Gulf–Black Sea initiatives.

On August 8 in Washington, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a seven-point joint declaration providing for the creation of a strategic transit route through southern Armenia’s Syunik region, to be called the Trump Route (TRIPP), granting Azerbaijan commercial access to Nakhichevan.

Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, in the presence of the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the United States, have already initialed the agreement “On the Establishment of Peace and Interstate Relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan.”

On September 11, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that Armenia had not leased land to the American side for 99 years, but had granted development rights.