US-Armenia agree on implementation framework for strategic transit corridor

WASHINGTON

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, right, meets with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan at the State Department in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

The U.S. and Armenia announced a framework Tuesday for the implementation of a strategic transit corridor agreed during a White House Peace Summit in August to boost regional trade.

The announcement came after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan at the State Department to discuss progress on the corridor and broader U.S.-Armenia cooperation.

The transit project, known as the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), will link mainland Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic through southern Armenia, under a declaration signed at the August summit by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and U.S. President Donald Trump.

The framework document released by the State Department after the meeting said that the “TRIPP Development Company” will be responsible for the development and implementation of the infrastructure, with the U.S. controlling a stake and Armenian oversight of reserve matters.

Once established, the company will have development rights for an initial term of 49 years, with Armenia intending to offer the U.S. a 74% share and keeping 26%, according to the framework. The deal is expected to be extended for another 50 years with a

grant of additional equity to Armenia, bringing its share to 49%.

The company will manage rail, road, energy, and digital infrastructure along the designated transit routes in Armenian territory. Armenia will retain full sovereignty over all project areas, including the authority to enforce its laws and regulations in line with domestic and international rules.

Rubio told reporters before the meeting that the corridor “opens up Armenia for business and allows it to prosper economically, but it does so in a way that doesn’t in any way infringe upon the sovereignty of Armenia.”

“We just think 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,” he added.

The August joint declaration signed at the White House reaffirmed the inadmissibility of using force to acquire territory, called for the closure of the OSCE Minsk Group -- to encourage a resolution on Karabakh -- and emphasized opening transport and communications links to promote peace and stability “on the basis of respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, and jurisdiction of the States.”

The leaders also initialed a 17-point peace agreement at the same summit, which includes commitments to respect sovereignty and territorial integrity, refrain from the use of force, establish diplomatic relations, set up bilateral commissions, and conduct negotiations through border commissions to finalize border delimitation and demarcation.