The Trump administration has achieved something in the South Caucasus that no other American administration has been able to achieve since 1991.

We are talking about the idea of ​​connecting Central Asia to Europe through the South Caucasus and the Middle Corridor, as well as the prospect of connecting Armenia to global supply chains. This initiative is of strategic importance for Washington, as it creates uninterrupted communication channels, bypassing Russia, China and Iran. This idea is not new, but it has never reached this stage of implementation.

It is clear that the time factor is essential here and the project should be implemented as quickly as possible. This is the reason why the role of the Washington bureaucracy is significantly reduced in this process. In fact, everything is being done so that the project is implemented as quickly as possible, and on the way to its advancement, additional obstacles do not arise in the administrative system of Washington, affecting the schedule of the implementation of the project.

This applies both to the State Department, where the decision-making process can often be slow, and to the National Security Council, where decisions and scenarios can also take quite a long time. Now these obstacles are virtually non-existent. Both competing agencies are headed by Rubio, and decisions are being made fairly quickly, at least on this project, as far as I can tell.

In this context, it is important to refer to the appointment of Konstantin Sokolov, about which there was no lack of various comments. His appointment should be considered in the same strategic context. Sokolov knows Armenia’s business environment quite well, both its positive and negative aspects. However, it is important here that his appointment also fits into the logic of reducing the bureaucracy. He has direct contact with key figures in the Trump administration and will enjoy the immediate and unconditional support of the administration in the process of implementing TRIPP and the entire project.

At the moment, the main obstacles to the TRIPP project are the railway issue and the strained relations between Iran and the United States. After all, TRIPP is the American strategic project closest to Iran’s border, with all its implications. Therefore, this may create some worries on the American side, especially at this tense stage, as a result of which the implementation of the project may be slowed down.

Political scientist Suren Sargsyan

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