Vasif Huseynov
The August 8 summit between the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders in Washington, D.C., with mediation by U.S. President Donald Trump, reached a deal on the Zangezur Corridor, envisioning an “unimpeded” transit route through Armenia to Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan exclave.
Domestic opposition in Armenia has fiercely criticized the deal, and with upcoming parliamentary elections in 2026, there is uncertainty about Armenia’s future position.
Challenges from Russia and Iran, both of which oppose external involvement in the corridor, add further complexity, with Russia insisting on maintaining the previous agreements it reached with Armenia and Azerbaijan.
On August 28, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that his country will start substantive talks next month with the United States and Azerbaijan on the practical arrangements for opening a transit route to Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan exclave via the territory of Armenia (Armenpress.am, August 28). The agreement on this route (hereafter the Zangezur Corridor) was reached on August 8 during a trilateral meeting between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister Pashinyan, mediated by U.S. President Donald Trump (see EDM, August 12).
According to the trilateral agreement, the route (renamed as the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, or TRIPP) would serve as an “unimpeded” passage and be managed through what Trump called an “exclusive partnership” between Armenia and the United States for 99 years (President of Azerbaijan, August 9). According to Pashinyan, this implies the deployment of an “Armenia-United States company” which “will carry out the business management” (Armenpress.am, August 21). He underscored that the company “will not control that road but manage it,” refuting the domestic criticism about the loss of Armenian sovereignty over the route and the sublease of the territory to the United States.
No comments:
Post a Comment