Pashinyan rejects Kocharyan’s remarks on TRIPP, says it will bring multimillion-dollar investments

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday rejected former President Robert Kocharyan’s remarks about the TRIPP connectivity project.

Kocharyan claimed at a press conference that the U.S. goal with TRIPP is not economic interest, but control over Iran. The former president also said that claims of hundreds of millions of dollars in investments that TRIPP would bring are false. He argued that the project could be realized with just $80 million, which Armenia could fund on its own.

Asked to comment, PM Pashinyan told reporters on Thursday that TRIPP is first and foremost an investment and economic project.

“With this project, there will be multimillion-dollar investments—hundreds of millions—in Armenia. TRIPP is a major investment project that will certainly bring significant security guarantees as well,” Pashinyan said.

He denied Kocharyan’s claims that the U.S. has no economic interests in the project.

“You know, how can a country like the United States, which is entirely built on economic logic, have no economic interest? Aren’t you following the policies pursued by President Trump? All of his decisions have an economic rationale, because the economic development and prosperity of the United States, and of course the security required for that, are priorities for President Trump—as they are for the leaders of all countries, at least those who are guided by their own national interests,” Pashinyan said.

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, create long-term benefits by promoting infrastructure investment, and enhance regional connectivity. TRIPP is part of the Crossroads of Peace project, and an Armenian-American joint enterprise is expected to develop the route.