Armenian PM: Construction of “Trump Route” should begin in second half of 2026

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has provided details on the planned “Trump Route,” Caliber.Az reports via Armenian media. 

"We need to put all the details on paper by the end of this year. Agreements should be reached in the first half of 2026, and construction will begin in the second half. We will do everything possible to ensure the schedule is clear," Pashinyan said.

He added that the railway will follow the route of the Soviet-era line, while the gas pipeline and power lines will be located significantly further north.

The "Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity" (TRIPP) is a U.S.-brokered infrastructure project aimed at establishing a multimodal transit corridor through southern Armenia, connecting Azerbaijan’s mainland to its Nakhchivan exclave. The route, approximately 40–43 km long in Armenia’s Syunik Province, includes rail, road, gas and oil pipelines, power lines, and fibre-optic cables. It is part of ongoing Armenia-Azerbaijan normalisation efforts following the 2020 Karabakh war and subsequent anti-terror operation in 2023 that fully restored Azerbaijan’s sovereignty.

By Khagan Isayev