Ukraine intelligence report says TRIPP sidelines Russia in South Caucasus

The US and Armenia are launching the TRIPP route, sidelining Russia as the main player in the South Caucasus, as the new corridor will connect Asia and Europe via Armenia and Azerbaijan without Moscow's involvement, Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service said in a report released on Monday. 

The Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) project is becoming a new geopolitical factor in the region. It provides the United States with special rights to develop the transit corridor.

A joint Armenian-American management company will control the project for the next 49 years.

"The TRIPP is finally depriving Russia of its position as the main player in the South Caucasus," the intelligence service notes.

The TRIPP plan includes constructing oil and gas pipelines, fiber-optic networks, and building railway and road infrastructure along the railway line bordering Iran.

According to the beneficiaries, the corridor will form an "important link" in the Trans-Caspian route, which runs through China, Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and onward to Türkiye and European countries.

According to Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, Russia's participation in the project was not even discussed by the American and Armenian sides.

The intelligence service notes that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan nearly issued an ultimatum to the main carrier of the aggressor country, JSC "Russian Railways" (RZhD), currently the concessionaire of the Armenian railway, to quickly restore the destroyed routes to the borders with Azerbaijan and Türkiye.

Otherwise, the restoration will be funded by Armenia, raising questions about the relevance of Russia's presence in the region.