Armenpress: TRIPP not just Azerbaijan-Nakhchivan link but strategic regional p

Armenia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan has pushed back on the characterisation of the TRIPP project as simply a connectivity link between Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan, describing it as a far broader strategic undertaking – and one in which Armenia has full ownership.

Speaking at the World Policy Conference, Kostanyan said the framing of Armenia as merely “supporting” the project did not accurately reflect the agreements reached in Washington.

“Supporting the TRIPP project is perhaps not the most precise way to describe what was agreed in Washington – firstly, because TRIPP is a project of which Armenia has full ownership, and secondly, because we ourselves are deeply interested in opening communications across the region,” he said.

He outlined a vision that extends well beyond a single transit corridor.

“TRIPP is not simply about connecting mainland Azerbaijan with Nakhchivan. It is a far larger and more strategic project – one aimed at linking Central Asia with Europe, and at building a framework of reciprocal benefits,” Kostanyan said.

He stressed that the unblocking of communications would bring tangible benefits for Armenia itself, allowing the country’s southern regions to connect with its northern regions via the Nakhchivan railway. More broadly, he said, the process would open an East-West corridor and link the Gulf with the Black Sea – a development he described as a game-changer for the entire region.

Kostanyan said Armenia is actively engaged in discussions with American partners on establishing an Armenian-American joint venture to implement the project. He added that work has already moved beyond the feasibility stage.

“We have already begun not only the feasibility study, but the actual opening of communications in the region,” he said, pointing to a concrete precedent: since 8 August, Armenia has been importing grain from Kazakhstan using the Azerbaijani and Georgian rail networks. He described this as a compelling example of how regional cooperation can function in practice — and how building interdependencies can strengthen stability and peace.

Turning to Armenia-Azerbaijan relations, Kostanyan said both countries’ leaders have repeatedly affirmed that peace has already been established between them.

“What we are engaged in now, we prefer to call peace institutionalisation – taking further steps to build economic ties between our two countries,” he said.

On the economic front, he noted that direct bilateral trade is already under way, with Armenia importing fuel from Azerbaijan. He added that the two sides have identified what Armenia will export to Azerbaijan in the near future.

Kostanyan also highlighted progress on people-to-people contacts, noting that civil society representatives from both countries are meeting – not only abroad, but inside Armenia and Azerbaijan themselves.

He pointed to a new trilateral consultation format established with Georgia, involving the foreign ministries of all three South Caucasus states, in which he and his Georgian counterpart Lasha Darsalia are personally involved.

“We see enormous potential for regional cooperation – not only among Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan, but with our wider neighbourhood as well,” Kostanyan said.