The energy infrastructure that will connect Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Turkey is likely to be routed through the northern section of the TRIPP route.
This is reported by American analysts Brenda Shaffer and Svante Cornell in their article The Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity is more than a road. Mediamax notes that Shaffer and Cornell have consistently supported Azerbaijan's positions over the past decades.
“This route is much more than just a road. It reflects the active desire of the United States to maintain access to the heart of Eurasia, to help partner countries maintain their independence, and to prevent Russia, China, and Iran from establishing dominance over the strategically important Caspian region.
The U.S. and its Western allies need to develop infrastructure that mitigates the consequences of violations of freedom of navigation and promotes the extraction of energy resources from the Middle East. TRIPP is an important element of this policy,” write Shaffer and Cornell.
They note that TRIPP is part of a larger land trade route connecting Europe and Asia, known as the Middle Corridor.
“The significance of this corridor for global trade is increasing as it allows to bypass one of the most acute contemporary geopolitical issues - threats to freedom of navigation. The Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoints of the Red Sea, and the Black Sea control global flows of energy resources, giving unscrupulous players like Iran huge levers of strategic influence. TRIPP eliminates this problem, and since the route does not pass through the territory of Russia or Iran, it is not subject to current and future sanctions.
Photo: Government of Armenia
However, the benefits of the corridor are not limited to facilitating trade between Europe and Asia. The region is home to oil and gas reserves that can diversify global hydrocarbon markets, reducing price levels, strengthening supply security, and reducing dependence on traditional producers and their political whims. Additionally, Central Asia accounts for nearly half of global uranium production, as well as significant deposits of rare earth metals, the main reserves of which are concentrated in China. Western access to these resources depends on the Middle Corridor,” the article states.
“Since the TRIPP route runs in close proximity to the border of Armenia with Iran, it is not the most convenient place for the installation of large energy infrastructures - electric and gas pipelines, as well as strategic fiber optic cables. They are likely to be routed further north of TRIPP,” predict Brenda Shaffer and Svante Cornell.
Translation: Marta Semyonova
This article has been translated and published with the support of the Gulbenkian Foundation: The views expressed in the article do not necessarily reflect the views of the Gulbenkian Foundation or Mediamax.
