The United States on January 13 unveiled the first detailed framework for a US-administered transit corridor across Armenia designed to link Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan exclave. 

The Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) is expected to boost regional trade, while also enhancing the US’ role in the South Caucasus. Under the framework, Armenia will give the United States a 74% stake in a new entity called the TRIPP Development Company, with Armenia retaining the remaining 26%.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the plan following talks in Washington with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan on January 13, with the US State Department releasing the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) Implementation Framework.

The project would create a road, rail and energy corridor through Armenia’s southern Syunik region, connecting the main part of Azerbaijan with Nakhchivan, which borders Turkey and has no direct land link to the rest of Azerbaijan. It is expected to have broader regional benefits by creating a new route across the South Caucasus, a key point on the Middle Corridor connecting Europe to Central and East Asia. 

The initiative follows Azerbaijan’s 2023 military victory over Armenia that ended a long-running conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh and left Yerevan under pressure to open transit routes demanded by Baku.

In a joint statement, Washington and Yerevan said the framework was “the latest step toward fulfilling the commitments made at the White House on August 8, 2025, to advance the cause of lasting peace in the South Caucasus”.

The document says TRIPP is intended to establish “unimpeded, multimodal transit connectivity on the territory of Armenia” while at the same time “connecting the main part of Azerbaijan and its Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and creating a vital link in the Trans-Caspian Trade Route”. 

It adds that the plan “underscores the importance of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and reciprocity to the overall success of the TRIPP” and aims to “strengthen the prosperity and security of Armenia and Azerbaijan and further American commerce by expanding regional trade and connectivity as well as create new transit opportunities linking Central Asia and the Caspian to Europe.”

Majority control

The document also sets out plans for the TRIPP Development Company, to be majority owned by the US.  “Armenia intends to offer the United States a 74 percent share and to hold itself a 26 percent share in the TRIPP Development Company,” the framework says, adding that the arrangement would be extended after 50 years, increasing Armenia’s stake to 49%.

The company will build and operate railways, roads, energy lines and other infrastructure along the corridor and manage revenues from transit fees for at least 49 years.

According to the framework, its objectives include delivering “a financial return to the US for its initial contribution or other economic benefits to the US government or for US companies,” while also opening “new markets for US investment” and speeding up trade “to bring raw materials, critical minerals and rare earth metals to American markets”. 

The Trump administration has framed the project as part of a broader push to use US-backed infrastructure to reshape global supply chains. Details of TRIPP emerged days after Washington ousted Venezuela’s leader and said US firms would gain access to its oil sector, with revenues recycled into purchases of US goods.

In a message posted on X, Rubio wrote: “Today, Armenian Foreign Minister @AraratMirzoyan and I announced the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) Implementation Framework. It builds on the commitments of @POTUS’s historic peace summit just five months ago between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The TRIPP will unlock the South Caucasus’ potential in trade, transit, and energy flows — boosting prosperity and security throughout the region.”

Armenian sovereignty

Under the new framework, Armenian officials will retain border and customs authority. The document states: “Armenia’s sovereignty and jurisdiction over border and customs operations are absolute and non-negotiable.”

It also specifies that while private operators hired by the TRIPP Development Company will handle “customer-facing services” and fee collection, Armenian officials will “maintain a physical presence in all Armenian border and customs facilities,” make “final customs decisions and clearances” and oversee “immigration control.”

Rubio also sought to reassure Armenia that the corridor would not compromise its control over its territory.

“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,” Rubio said after meeting Mirzoyan, as quoted by AFP.

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

Mirzoyan hailed the deal, writing on X: “Today in Washington together w/ @SecRubio, we adopted #TRIPP Implementation Framework – an important step towards realisation of Peace Summit agreements of August 8, aimed at advancing regional connectivity, unlocking economic benefits & contributing to lasting peace & prosperity.”

Regional tensions

Armenia agreed in principle to open a transit route between Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a US-brokered declaration at the White House last August pledging to ensure “unhindered communication” through Syunik.

Still, the corridor remains politically sensitive. Azerbaijan has long pushed for what it calls a “Zangezur corridor” through Syunik, which Aliyev has said the TRIPP effectively delivers; Azerbaijani officials have continued to refer to the route as the Zangezur corridor. 

The route would run along Armenia’s narrow border with Iran, raising fears in Tehran of an expanded US footprint on its northern frontier. Iran, which traditionally has good relations with Armenia, is currently in a state of turmoil, with mass anti-government protests raging for days. 

The US' increased involvement in the South Caucasus comes also at a time when Moscow's relations with both Baku and Yerevan have deteriorated, eroding Russian influence in the region. 

Domestically, Armenian opposition politicians have warned the arrangement could weaken Yerevan’s grip on the region, even if border controls formally remain in Armenian hands. Pashinyan, who will face a general election this year, has been repeatedly accused by the opposition of making too many concessions to Baku.