On August 8, in Washington, a historic peace agreement was signed between Armenia and Azerbaijan under US mediation.
At the heart of this agreement lies the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, built along the Zangezur Corridor. Through TRIPP, the United States secured a 99-year development right to a special transport corridor on Armenian territory, a move with the potential to reshape the geopolitical balance in the region.
TRIPP covers a 32-43 km. stretch of the Zangezur Corridor, linking mainland Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave. The land remains under Armenian sovereignty but is leased to the United States under a 99-year sublease agreement, with operations conducted under Armenian law. The corridor will host multi-modal infrastructure, including railway lines, oil and gas pipelines, fiber-optic cables, and roads. TRIPP gives Washington a strategic foothold in the South Caucasus, counterbalancing Russian and Iranian influence.
The dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group underscores the United States’ new dominance in mediation and infrastructure policy. US diplomats have framed the deal as both a driver of regional stability and a catalyst for economic growth. Iran strongly opposes the project, citing security concerns over a potential US or NATO presence near its borders.
Iranian officials have used terms such as “political treachery” and “graveyard of mercenaries” to describe TRIPP. Domestic criticism in Armenia focuses on sovereignty and legal issues, with opposition voices warning that the deal could weaken state control over national territory.
More than a geopolitical tool
Azerbaijan and Turkey view the agreement as a breakthrough in regional integration and a major opportunity for economic connectivity. TRIPP could be more than a geopolitical tool; it has the potential to transform regional economics through energy transit, logistics, and trade, linking Turkey, Azerbaijan, Central Asia, and Western markets.
Its success will depend on balancing opportunities for integration with concerns over sovereignty and managing ongoing geopolitical issues.
The Zangezur region, located in Armenia’s southern Syunik Province, has been a point of geopolitical contention for over a century. During the pre-Soviet era, the area was a disputed borderland between the First Republic of Armenia and the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (1918-1920). In the Soviet period, Zangezur was incorporated into Soviet Armenia, physically separating mainland Azerbaijan from Nakhchivan.
After the collapse of the USSR and following the First Nagorno-Karabakh War (1988-1994), transport routes through Zangezur were closed, isolating Nakhchivan from Azerbaijan proper. The November 2020 trilateral ceasefire agreement – between the two countries and Russia – included a clause to reopen regional transport links, reviving discussions over the Zangezur Corridor.
The 2025 TRIPP agreement represents the most concrete step toward realizing this vision since the Soviet collapse. This long history explains why the corridor is seen not merely as infrastructure but as a symbolic and strategic bridge – or fault line – in the South Caucasus.
The TRIPP initiative stands as the centerpiece of the August 2025 Armenia–Azerbaijan peace agreement signed in Washington. It represents a new phase in Western diplomatic influence, offers economic integration potential, and could mark the beginning of a new stability era in the South Caucasus. It must be noted, however, that the surrounding geopolitical environment – Iranian hostility, domestic legal concerns, and unresolved sovereignty debates – continues to cast uncertainty over the long-term outcome of this ambitious project.
The writer is a Middle East scholar and commentator on the region.