Speaker rejects opposition arguments linking TRIPP implementation to Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty
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Armenian Parliament Speaker Ruben Rubinyan has said that the implementation of the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) should not be contingent on the signing of a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, rejecting opposition Strong Armenia faction head Narek Karapetyan’s argument that the project should not be implemented before the agreement is signed.
The Speaker of Parliament was responding to Strong Armenia faction head Narek Karapetyan’s assertion that the TRIPP project, an Armenian-American project, should not be implemented until the initialed peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan is signed.
“Our opposition colleagues believe that TRIPP is a bad project for Armenia. If you insist that we should not implement this project in order to obtain a peace treaty, this means you think TRIPP is a bad project for Armenia. TRIPP is by no means a bad project for Armenia,” Rubinyan, a senior member of the Civil Contract party, said at a plenary session of parliament debating the TRIPP ratification bill.
“I will say more: it is very good that the implementation of TRIPP does not depend on the signing of the peace treaty. At the same time, it is also very good that the delimitation and demarcation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan does not depend on the signing and ratification of the peace treaty. There is a simple explanation for this: there is currently an issue regarding the signing of the peace treaty. Azerbaijan is making a claim on the basis of which it is currently refusing to sign the peace treaty,” Rubinyan said, referring to Azerbaijan’s demands for constitutional amendments in Armenia.
“We disagree with this claim and say that we are ready to sign it now. In this context, it is very good that the other components of peace, which are manifested on the ground, can be implemented and do not depend on the signing of the treaty,” Rubinyan said.
The Speaker of Parliament also rejected Karapetyan’s assertion that Armenia would make concessions to Azerbaijan through TRIPP. Rubinyan maintained that, through TRIPP, Armenia and Azerbaijan would unblock regional communication routes on the principle of reciprocity.