Eurasianet, writing jointly with the Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst, reports that construction of the TRIPP route through Armenia has stalled because of Iranian security concerns and Russia’s control over Armenian railways.
More than a year after Armenia and Azerbaijan signed their Washington agreement under the mediation of US President Donald Trump, the roughly 40-kilometre TRIPP corridor — the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity — still has not been built, Eurasianet reports in an article co-published with the Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst. According to the piece, written by political science doctoral student Suren Sargsyan, the delay stems not from Yerevan or Baku themselves but from outside forces.
Eurasianet recalls that TRIPP, central to the normalization process launched in August 2025, was meant to link Azerbaijan directly to Nakhchivan without passing through Iranian territory, boosting the broader Middle Corridor connecting Central Asia to Europe. The outlet writes that Kazakhstan has shown particular interest in the project. Although the United States has allocated funding, set up a fund and appointed a manager, construction has yet to begin. Citing Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, the article notes that building work on the Armenian section of the route could start in early 2027.
Iran and Russia complicate the route
The author writes that the US-Israel-Iran war reshaped the region’s security environment, prompting Tehran to openly object to TRIPP, which it views as a US-backed strategic route running in some stretches just a few hundred metres from the Iranian border. According to the article, Iran currently provides the shortest transit route to Nakhchivan, giving it leverage over Azerbaijan that TRIPP would substantially reduce — a dynamic the author says explains Tehran’s economic and geopolitical interest in blocking the project.
A second obstacle, Eurasianet notes, is that Armenia’s rail network remains under a concession held by the state-owned Russian Railways. The outlet reports that the head of Russian Railways has highlighted roughly $400 million invested in Armenian infrastructure, a statement interpreted as a signal that Moscow could demand compensation or a role in the project.
The article concludes that TRIPP’s fate now rests less on Armenia and Azerbaijan than on broader negotiations Washington will need to hold with Tehran and Moscow, and that without such agreements the corridor will continue to carry significant geopolitical risk.
