Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Yerevan is discussing two long-term lease options with the United States for the transportation route envisioned under the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” (TRIPP) project – a 49-year term or a 99-year term.
Speaking at a forum in Yerevan, Pashinyan said both scenarios are on the table because the project will require significant foreign investment.
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“Investors need guarantees that their investments will return in the form of certain benefits,” he said, explaining why the lease terms under discussion are measured in decades rather than years.
Pashinyan argued that offering land for only five years – for example – would make the project unviable, because it would be impossible to recoup costs in such a short period. He added that Armenia views the project purely through a financial and economic lens, insisting that “there is no political component.”
According to Pashinyan, construction on the route is expected to begin in the second half of 2026.
Background: TRIPP and the Peace Declaration
On August 8, following a trilateral meeting in Washington with former U.S. President Donald Trump, Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a joint declaration on peaceful settlement between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The agreement also outlined the creation of a transport connection between mainland Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan.
The initiative was branded the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, or TRIPP – a U.S.-brokered framework intended to give economic incentives to both sides while supporting the broader Armenia–Azerbaijan peace process.
