US to take three-quarter stake in Armenia corridor

Washington announced on Tuesday that Armenia would grant the United States a roughly three-quarters share in a corridor of its territory that connects portions of neighboring Azerbaijan. The United States said it anticipated financial gains from the deal but pledged to preserve sovereignty.

In a meeting with Armenia’s senior diplomat in Washington, Secretary of State Marco Rubio outlined the project’s concept. The proposal was approved by Armenia’s government following a decisive military victory by Azerbaijan in 2023 that put an end to a protracted struggle.

The United States had proposed developing a corridor that would connect the larger part of Azerbaijan with its exclave of Nakhchivan, which is not linked otherwise with the rest of Azerbaijan and borders the country’s key ally, Turkey. Armenia lies between these two parts of Azerbaijan.

In the typical fashion of President Donald Trump’s administration, the corridor is named after him — the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) — and he has listed Armenia and Azerbaijan as beneficiaries of peace after a series of wars he claims to have ended.

A framework released by the State Department after Rubio’s meeting said that Armenia would give the United States a 74 percent share in a new “TRIPP Development Company” and retain the rest for itself.

The company will set up a corporate structure bringing together the two governments that will develop rail and road routes through the corridor, it said.

The company’s objectives will include giving a “financial return to the US for its initial contribution or other economic benefits to the US government or for US companies,” the framework said.

The project will open new markets for US investment and speed up trade “to bring raw materials, critical minerals and rare earth metals to American markets,” it said.

Speaking with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, Rubio said: “The TRIPP arrangement really is going to turn out to be a model for the world of how you can open yourself up to economic activity and prosperity without in any way questioning or undermining your sovereignty and your territorial integrity.”

“It’s going to be great for Armenia, great for the United States, great for everyone involved,” Rubio said.

Release of the project details come days after the United States deposed the leader of Venezuela and said that US companies would profit from its oil sector, whose proceeds would go back to buy US products.