Trump’s Route to ‘International Peace and Prosperity’ Runs Through Armenia, Azerbaijan

The Trump administration is moving to secure American interests in Southwest Asia through efforts toward peace and commerce deals with Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The first step toward a more permanent peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan was signed on Aug. 8. It says that the countries will not interfere in each other’s internal affairs and will operate in good faith to establish an agreed-upon border between them.

Crucially, it commits the two nations to refraining “from the use of force or the threat of use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence or in any other manner inconsistent with the Charter of the United Nations.”

President Donald Trump has also sought to end hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan by securing a transit corridor between the two nations. The corridor, to be called the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), shall be exclusively developed by the United States through a 99-year lease. The new route has the potential to enrich all three countries through trade while simultaneously reducing the influence of Iran, Russia, and China in the South Caucasus. 

China has long sought to exert its influence on Central and West Asia through its Belt and Road Initiative, while Russia has historic ties to Armenia and Azerbaijan, insofar as both were once a part of the now-defunct Soviet Union.

James Carafano, a senior counselor to the president at The Heritage Foundation, celebrated the peace pact in a statement to The Daily Signal. 

“The deal brokered by President Trump is transformational and will have a ripple affect across Eurasia. Brick by brick, Trump is laying paths of free and open spaces that are going to deliver stability, prosperity, and peace,” Carafano said. 

Robert Greenway, director of the Allison Center for National Security at Heritage, congratulated Trump administration official Steve Witkoff for his role in making the agreement possible. 

“Not only does this deal bring an end to decades of bloodshed, but it protects an ancient Christian community, secures a vital regional ally in a strategic location, safeguards critical energy supplies, diminishes Russian influence, and provides significant economic benefits for the United States. The world is in better standing today because the Trump administration pursued peace,” Greenway said in a statement. 

Oscar Tatosian, a Chicago businessman who is a co-chair of the Armenian Assembly of America, an Armenian-American lobbying group, discussed the implications of the deal in an interview with The Daily Signal.

“I mean, these corridors, these transit routes, they’re crucial. And there was a chance Armenia was going to get left out if they went through Iran, or they developed other routes through Georgia,” Tatosian explained, later adding: “As a businessman, I’m grateful that it worked out this way. It’s efficient, and it could—it’s kind of cliché—but it could be a game-changer.”

Tatosian said that the people on the ground in the region were optimistic about the deal.

“[F]rom what I hear, the people in Armenia feel good about it, the citizenry, and they’re the ones living there. So for that, I’m grateful,” he added.

“Devil’s in the details … . We don’t know, but Armenia is more secure today than it was three weeks ago. It’s more secure than it was three months ago, six months ago, a year ago,” he added. 

The deal was also praised by Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev, who attributed the deal’s success to Trump.

“We will turn the page of standoff, confrontation, and bloodshed, and provide a bright and safe future for our children,” Aliyev declared. 

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