U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the White House on Friday, where the two long-time adversaries signed a joint peace declaration after decades of conflict.
The route, to be managed by a U.S.-led consortium under Armenian law, will be known as the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP).
As part of the deal, Armenia agreed to lease to the United States - for up to 99 years — a transit corridor running through its southern territory, linking mainland Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave.
"This declaration establishes what they are calling — a great honor for me. I didn’t ask for this — the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, which is a special transit area that will allow Azerbaijan to get full access to its territory of Nakhchivan while fully respecting Armenia’s sovereignty" said the US President, announcing the deal."Armenia is also creating an exclusive partnership with the United States to develop this corridor, which could extend for up to 99 years. And then they promised in 99 years they’ll extend it, right? You’ll promise. But we anticipate significant infrastructure development by American companies. They’re very anxious to go in to these two countries. And they’re going to spend a lot of money — a lot of money — which will economically benefit all three of our nations. This is incredibly positive news for the future of the entire region. And it’s a very important region, as you know."
I look forward to that corridor, because that corridor sounds - I’m going to have to get over there. I’ll bring Senator Daines with me, and we’re going to have to get over there, Steve. So - but this is a really great achievement.
The corridor runs within roughly 30 kilometers of Iran’s border - an area Western intelligence agencies say Tehran has long used to circumvent U.S. sanctions by smuggling dual-use goods through Armenia, and to receive military deliveries from Russia.
Shortly after the deal was announced, Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, vowed Iran would block the U.S.-backed transit route.
"This corridor will not become a passage owned by Trump, but rather a graveyard for Trump's mercenaries," he was quoted by Iranian media as saying.
He argued that it would open the way for NATO to position itself “like a viper” in Iran's neighbourhood.
However, a US official from the Five Eyes intelligence alliance told the Mirage the threats were hollow.
"Iran can bluster all it wants. That’s the very reason Armenia and Azerbaijan went looking for U.S. backing in the first place," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"The United States - and Trump’s name [on the corridor] - isn’t just logistics or funding, it’s a shield. [It is] an insurance policy. With Iran, sure, they’ll [talk] in hyperbolic language… but they know they’re staring at a done deal. "
