PM: Armenia, US discuss building railway under Trump’s TRIPP initiative

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has announced that Armenia and the United States are holding active negotiations on constructing a new railway line that would connect mainland Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan exclave.

According to Caliber.Az, citing Armenian media, Pashinyan made the remarks during his speech at the International Forum “Building Peace and Multilateral Cooperation” held in Yerevan.

“Now we are discussing with our American partners the construction of a railroad that will connect the main part of Azerbaijan with Nakhchivan. Why exactly with the United States? Because it is an integral part of the TRIPP (‘Trump’s Route’) project,” Pashinyan stated.

The Armenian prime minister added that once regional communications are reopened, Russia would also be able to transport freight to Armenia through Azerbaijani territory.

“Discussions are underway that Russia can provide railroad transportation to Armenia through Azerbaijan,” he said.

Pashinyan’s comments come in the wake of the trilateral summit held on August 8, 2025, at the White House, hosted by US President Donald Trump, which marked a major diplomatic breakthrough in Armenia-Azerbaijan relations. During the meeting, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and President Trump initialled a preliminary peace declaration under the framework of the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” (TRIPP) initiative.

The Washington summit — the first of its kind since the collapse of the Soviet Union — resulted in a joint declaration emphasising the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the rejection of force. It also paved the way for a draft peace agreement titled “Agreement on Establishment of Peace and Inter-State Relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia”, which was initialled by the foreign ministers of both countries.

A central outcome of the summit was the decision to create the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” (TRIPP), often referred to as the Zangezur Corridor. This transit corridor aims to connect mainland Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave through Armenia, opening new pathways for regional connectivity, intra-state trade, and international transport.

By Tamilla Hasanova