The United States remains fully committed to cooperation with Armenia and Azerbaijan, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced today:
The State Department's statement recalls that one year ago on this day, President Trump established peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan by hosting Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the White House and being present at the signing of their historic joint declaration.
“This declaration ended decades of conflict in the South Caucasus and launched the ‘Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity’ (TRIPP) initiative,” the State Department's statement said.
Secretary of State Rubio noted that over the past twelve months, the United States has worked together with Armenia and Azerbaijan to turn that promise into progress.
Rubio stated that TRIPP, which is designed for the modernization of rail, road, energy, and digital infrastructure, is gradually becoming a reality. “Engineering studies for the railway have already begun in Armenia, and Azerbaijan is nearing completion of the construction of the highway and railway connecting it to Armenia,” Rubio said.
The U.S. Secretary emphasized that “peace has opened the way for the expansion of relations between the United States, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, which will contribute to the economic prosperity of the three countries.”
A senior U.S. official reported that the Trans-Caspian Fund has already begun its operations. “It is managed by a newly elected board of directors, and the fund has been capitalized with $201 million in funding from the U.S. government to stimulate private sector investments along the Trans-Caspian trade route (Middle Corridor) in the South Caucasus and Central Asia,” the Secretary's statement said.
Rubio emphasized that TRIPP is not just an infrastructure project; it is a vital link in the Trans-Caspian trade route, a stimulus for trade opportunities for the United States and other countries, and an example of how economic cooperation can strengthen peace after the resolution of long-standing disputes.
The United States remains fully committed to cooperation with Armenia and Azerbaijan in building and moving forward on this basis, the Secretary said, congratulating both countries for their “courage and vision displayed over the past year and looking forward to continued progress toward establishing sustainable and lasting peace in the South Caucasus.”
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff also wrote on X: “A year ago, President Trump brought together Azerbaijan and Armenia to sign a historic peace agreement that ended a brutal 35-year conflict.”
Earlier today, the Prime Minister of Armenia had separate phone conversations with U.S. President Donald Trump and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on the occasion of August 8.
