Matthew Bryza: TRIPP route to boost Azerbaijan's transit role

The TRIPP implementation framework, which was signed on January 13th by US Secretary of State Rubio and Armenian Foreign Minister Mirzoyan, is significant for a number of reasons, Matthew Bryza, former US Ambassador to Azerbaijan, member of the Board of Directors of the Jamestown Foundation, said in a statement to Report.

"First of all, it underscores in quite specific ways the commitment of the United States and Armenia to move forward on the Trump Road for International Peace and Prosperity, the TRIPP, or the Zangazur Corridor, and to translate words into deeds," Bryza said.

According to him, a second reason why it's important is that it makes explicitly clear that Armenia will maintain full sovereignty over the territory through which the trip will run:

"What is called for is a 49-year lease of the land, which will remain explicitly part of the sovereignty of or under the sovereign control of Armenia."

A third reason why it's an important step forward is that it defines an interesting business model for this important infrastructure project, Matthew Bryza emphasized.

The diplomat also noted that the agreement "to me shows again that the governments of Armenia and the United States are serious" about moving ahead with the TRIPP. "And that they recognize explicitly that Azerbaijan will benefit, of course, from the trip by helping Nakhchivan and the rest of Azerbaijan connect, but also Azerbaijan will benefit by being a crucial element in a transit corridor that will link Central Asia across the Caspian, across Azerbaijan, through Armenia, across Nakhchivan to Türkiye, and then on to European and global markets. As is stated in the beginning of the framework, that sort of cooperation based on this project should help strengthen a framework for a lasting peace and a peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia," Bryza stressed.