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As a result of the Washington Declaration, Armenia is focused on implementing the TRIPP project and is engaged in very active negotiations with the United States to reach an agreement on the legal framework and regulations, PM Nikol Pashinyan said on Friday.
He made the remarks at a joint press conference with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Astana.
“As you know, the main and fundamental issues have been determined and agreed upon under the Washington Declaration, and Armenia and Azerbaijan are opening their respective routes for each other internally [intra-state]—that is, from Azerbaijan through Armenian territory to Azerbaijan, and from Armenia through Azerbaijani territory to Armenia, for bilateral communication and international communication. According to the Washington Declaration, all of this will take place based on the countries’ territorial integrity, sovereignty, jurisdiction, and reciprocity,” the Prime Minister of Armenia said.
He added that Armenia and Azerbaijan have recognized each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty based on the Alma-Ata Declaration.
“I want to emphasize that in Washington, the agreement on establishing peace and interstate relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan was initialed, in which the Alma-Ata Declaration serves as a foundational principle. In this agreed and initialed text, Armenia and Azerbaijan stress that, based on the understanding that the former Soviet republics became independent states and that their administrative borders were transformed into state borders, both countries recognize each other’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, and political independence. The two countries also affirm that they have no territorial claims against each other and commit not to raise any territorial claims in the future,” Pashinyan said, emphasizing that this is indeed a very solid foundation for lasting, stable, and reliable peace, and that efforts must now be made to sign and ratify the peace agreement.
“Of course, even before that, we are already working on the Trump Route project, which, I believe, will significantly increase the opportunities for bilateral economic cooperation between Armenia and Kazakhstan as well, and enhance the export potential of both countries—Armenia toward the east, and Kazakhstan toward the west. We are, of course, very pleased that Kazakhstan has shown the highest-level interest in this project, which will, of course, include railway connections, pipelines, electricity transmission lines, cables, and Armenia and Azerbaijan have also expressed their willingness to provide each other with infrastructure intended for road transport,” Pashinyan said.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev earlier said that Kazakhstan is interested in participating in the TRIPP project.
The Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) is a connectivity project in Armenia, envisaged under the U.S.-brokered Armenian-Azerbaijani joint declaration signed in Washington, D.C. The project is expected to unlock strategic economic opportunities, creating long-term benefits by promoting infrastructure investment and enhancing regional connectivity. TRIPP is part of the Crossroads of Peace project, and an Armenian-American joint enterprise is expected to develop the route.