Armenia PM avoids answering question about difference between S. Caucasus Rail

News.am, Armenia
Oct 28, 2026

Armenia PM avoids answering question about difference between South Caucasus Railway company concession management and TRIPP project

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan avoided answering the question about the difference between the concession management of the South Caucasus Railway (SCR) company of Armenia and the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) regional transport project.

During Wednesday’s question-and-answer session in the National Assembly with the government, opposition MP Artur Khachatryan asked whether the SCR concession management agreement contains a reference to Armenia’s sovereignty, unhindered movement, etc., everything that is in the TRIPP project agreement.

Also, the lawmaker recalled that during the signing of documents in Washington on August 8 last year, Trump used the term “special transit zone” in relation to this project. Although Khachatryan had addressed the question to Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan, Prime Minister Pashinyan undertook to answer.

Pashinyan rather pathetically stated that the entire territory of Armenia can be used for any project. “Why does the railway pass through there? Because a road used to pass through there before. The pipeline can pass through another route: through Gegharkunik, through Tavush [Provinces of Armenia].

This is the idea that Mher Grigoryan was trying to convey,” Pashinyan stated, referring to the previous question about the width of the area intended for the TRIPP project. “As for Trump’s words, they were followed by talks, the text was agreed upon and ratified.

And what does it matter who said what? Verbal speech is one thing, a signed document is another. The answers should be sought in the documents,” Pashinyan added. Artur Khachatryan repeated his question as to whether the agreement with the SCR mentions sovereignty and unhindered passage.

Pashinyan essentially turned the answer into a joke, saying that when traveling through the SCR, the road ends sooner or later, and that is where the difference from TRIPP lies.

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