are outlined US priorities in Armenia

Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Alexei Overchuk w:recently given to TASS agency in a detailed interview, in particular, gave a subject description to the long-standing project of the restoration of railway communication between the main territory of Azerbaijan, the autonomy of Nakhichevan and Turkey through the Syunik Marz of Armenia and the North Bank of Araks:

“From the point of view of Baku, the “Zangezur Corridor” is important for the restoration of the connection between the two parts of the country, the opening of direct communication with Turkey, and the development of Azerbaijan as a Eurasian transport-logistics crossroads. For Washington, the “Trump Route” is an international transport corridor that ensures the export of critical minerals from Central Asia to the US, as well as controls Iran’s northern border.

For Moscow, the road passing through Meghri is an opportunity to improve transport links with another EEU member state, Armenia, as well as to improve access to the markets of Iran and Turkey. For Tehran, it is a competitive path and a threat from the US. For Ankara, this is the most convenient exit to Azerbaijan and the states of Central Asia. For Yerevan, the Meghri sector is an opportunity to unblock the country, realize the advantages of its geographical location and give an additional impetus to the development of its own economy. Our and Armenia’s interests coincide in this matter.

Along with that: «understandable to professional internationalists՝ the entry of foreigners into the South Caucasus will disrupt the security balance created there: The war between the USA and Iran shows how quickly all the countries in the region are involved in these events, which never thought that these events could happen. influence themselves:

The drone strikes had an immediate impact on the Nakhichevan area «North-South» on transportation through the international transport corridor and did not inspire confidence among investors who want to invest in the rehabilitation of the Meghri sector. In fact, due to its decision to stop cooperation with our country, Armenia has received new, very serious threats that it did not have before»:

To remind, as a result of negotiations held in Washington on January 13, RA Foreign Minister and Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a joint statement on the framework and implementation of the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” (TRIPP) Armenian-Azerbaijani program.

The document envisages the launch of a mechanism for the formation of “multimodal transit interconnection” through the territory of Armenia, including the connection of the main part of Azerbaijan to the Nakhichevan autonomy through the same Meghri section and the integration of the entire corridor into the assumed Trans-Caspian transport route. The share of the USA in the supposed TRIPP Development Company will be 74 percent, while Armenia will have only 26 percent.

The colonial interest in Armenia’s natural resources was once again mentioned by the US deputy ambassador in Yerevan, Andrew Johnson, who presented in detail is The essence of White House policy… “The USA and Armenia are actively discussing and expanding cooperation in the field of mining and geological exploration. Our shared goal is to create an industry that will attract responsible investment. The USA shows that Armenia’s geological and mining sectors attract serious long-term partners. American companies bring advanced technology, high standards and a commitment to transparency and accountability. It is not surprising that the US considers Armenia’s geological and mining potential as a strategic asset.

With transparent and sustainable development, it can promote economic growth, maintain regional stability and create opportunities for future generations. We stand ready to support those efforts.

States are willing to share their expertise “through institutions such as the US Geological Survey and other US government and academia partners” who are willing to “explore opportunities to collaborate on geologic mapping and data, professional training, and environmental and social best practices … (in the past) there have been productive negotiations between our governments on these issues.” For Armenian geologists, your work determines solutions in the fields of infrastructure, energy, water and mineral resources.”

According to available information, in mid-November 2025 in Yerevan, the US Deputy Secretary of State Alison Hooker discussed the options of appropriation of mineral deposits by the US with financial and technical support (within the supposed long-term concession) in the south of Armenia. Despite the small territory of the republic, the Armenian SSR occupied one of the leading places in the Soviet Union with the sought-after reserves of “rare earths” and related raw materials. During the Soviet years, uranium reserves were discovered in Syunik and in a number of other places, but due to a number of circumstances, the matter never reached extraction. In addition to the Geological Survey’s strong interest, the topic of possible uranium development could be considered during Vice President JD Vance’s February visit.

It is not excluded that the American partners could be interested in the Lychkvaz-tei and Terterasar complex mines.: The first of them is located 10-12 km northwest of the city of Meghri, which is the geographic center of the future “Trump” road. Also nearby is the Terterasar mine, which, according to observations made by Soviet geologists in the late 1980s, is a direct continuation of Lichkvaz-tey, with very similar geological and ore structure. At the end of 2011, according to official data, the total reserves of the two mines are: molybdenum and mixed ore: 3.755 million tons, copper: 15.499 thousand tons, gold: 20947.59 kg, silver: 135.1 tons, selenium: 19.2769 tons, tellurium: 31.73 tons, bismuth: 1434.548 tons, cadmium: 823.47 tons, arsenic: 11815.62 tons, lead: 19336.6 tons, zinc: 30431.5 tons, gallium: 22.035 kg (See: “Prospects and development paths of the mining and metallurgical industry in the Republic of Armenia”, Institute of Economics of the RA National Academy of Sciences, Yerevan, 2011)

According to the estimation of the Russian Polymetal periodical, the reliable resources of the Lichkvaz-tey mine in the early 2020s amounted to about 13.4 tons of gold, about 59 tons of silver and 15.9 thousand tons of copper (expected resources – 15-25% more). And the volumes of mining and ore supplies here (as in the neighboring Terterasar mine) are sketchy as before. However, some knowledgeable analysts do not rule out that this “partiality” of the data could have been agreed with the US Geological Survey.

In addition to the above, in the medium term not excluded Industrial appropriation of Meghrasar gold, Harutyunadzor, Marjan, Azatek gold polymetallic, Gladzor polymetallic, Kapan and Vaik copper, Hrazdan and Abovyan iron deposits: For almost two decades, no systematic geological studies, search and prospecting evaluation works using geophysical, geochemical, cartographic and other methods have been carried out in Armenia. Without the implementation of these works, the exploration reserves of many minerals are exhausted after a few years (A. Hovhannisyan Ways to improve the state administration system in the field of subsoil use of Armenia / Banber of the National Polytechnic University of Armenia. beh 3 (102), Yerevan 1999, p. 108-109 Metallurgy, Materials science, soil utilization. 2020. No. 1):

Earlier assumptions were made, that the “Trumpian” route could, among other things, be supplemented by supplies from Armenia’s largest taxpayer, the Zangezur copper-molybdenum plant.: In 2024, 342 thousand tons of copper concentrate ($558 million) were exported from Armenia, and 78% (or $435 million) went to China. At the same time, the intensifying geopolitical competition, the US-Israeli aggression against Iran and the negative trends in Russian-Armenian relations call into question the implementation of previously widely advertised cross-border transport projects.

 Translation by Zhanna Avetisyan

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