Hye Sharzhoom Armenian Action
Anahid Valencia
Staff Writer
Since its signing on August 8, the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) project has brought hefty discussion to the Armenian diaspora. A poll by Gallup shows that nearly 60% of Armenians oppose the corridor.
U.S. President Donald Trump brought Nikol Pashinyan, the prime minister of Armenia, and Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, together to broker the potential peace deal.
They signed for the implementation of TRIPP in August, but the project won’t officially begin until the proposal passes through Armenia’s parliament.
The TRIPP route will travel across Armenia’s southern region to connect Azerbaijan with Nakhichevan.
Since Armenia and Azerbaijan have a decades-long history of conflict, with Azerbaijan ethnically cleansing Nagorno Karabakh as recently as 2023, some have raised questions regarding sovereignty and the general intelligence of installing this corridor.
Trump, however, believes he has ended all tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan in facilitating the deal. During an August briefing, he claimed that the two countries will be “friends for a long time.”
A positive for Armenia in the context of TRIPP is that it is supposed to managed according to Armenian law. Still, trusting Azerbaijan in this land interception is a subject up for debate.
Overall feelings about Pashinyan are negative among Armenians. The Gallup poll reported that just 13% of respondents believe that he is “completely positive,” and the number of his supporters has only decreased since his term began.
The topic has hit home for two Armenian students at Fresno State. Grigor Terpogosyan, the president of the Armenian Students Organization, was the first to weigh in.
“It shouldn’t have happened,” Terpogosyan said. “Everyone focuses on the benefits of Azerbaijan. This helps them greatly.”
Terpogosyan believes that the main winner here is Azerbaijan. As of right now, and until it’s implemented, it’s hard to definitively tell. Though, the past trends with Armenia and Azerbaijan don’t paint a pretty picture.
Major media sources covered the international news when the TRIPP deal was signed, but Terpogosyan believes this isn’t enough. He said that, at first, he didn’t even know that TRIPP was being agreed to – he only knew of some sort of peace deal.
“All I knew was that Azerbaijan was trying super hard to create that corridor,” he said. “It’s a huge change and can be a risk to the Armenians later on for sure and it only benefits the Azeris.”
Nellie Chobanyan said that she has some reservations, but holds out hope for TRIPP.
“If implemented responsibly, it has the potential to reduce regional tensions and open up opportunities for economic growth, stability and integration with the broader international community,” she said.
Though there might be some light at the end of TRIPP’s tunnel in terms of peacemaking, Chobanyan explained that there are other important Armenian issues that need to be addressed.
“My main concern is that the humanitarian and security issues Armenia continues to face, especially those connected to Nagorno-Karabakh and the treatment of hostages, might be overlooked in the name of progress,” she said.
Time will tell how effective Pashinyan and Aliyev’s decision was in signing the TRIPP deal at truly creating peace.