🔗 Share this article

A deserted terminal, several corroded railcars and a dozen metres of track are all that remains of a Soviet railway in Armenia's southern region.

While appearing improbable, this neglected section of railway in the Caucasus region has been selected to become a symbol of peace brokered by America's leader, known as the Trump Route for Global Stability and Economic Growth.

Dispersed throughout are fragments of a head from a monument to a communist hero. A woman's sculpture is missing an arm.

"We are on this proposed corridor, also known as Crossroads of Peace, the ancient trade route, and the Zangezur Corridor," says a local journalist. "However currently nothing here looks American."

Regional Conflict Resolution

This represents one of the "unendable wars" Trump claims to have successfully resolved, through a diplomatic settlement between Armenia and its historical rival Azerbaijan.

The proposal outlines American corporations establishing presence under a 99-year deal to construct the 43km route through Armenian territory along its entire border with Iran, establishing a passageway linking Azerbaijan to its separated territory of Nakhchivan.

Rail transport, motorway and pipelines are all promised and Trump has spoken of corporations investing "a lot of money, which will economically benefit the three participating countries".

On the ground, the magnitude of the undertaking becomes apparent. This transport link must be constructed completely new, but diplomatic obstacles far outweigh financial considerations.

International Consequences

The American involvement could reshape the geopolitics of an area that Russia claims as its sphere of influence. Conservative factions in Iran express concern and have warned to halt the initiative.

The Tripp proposal is key to ending longstanding tensions between the two neighboring nations that originated from Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijani territory with historical Armenian presence.

In 2023, Azerbaijani forces regained the contested area, and virtually the entire ethnic Armenians were displaced. This was not the first such expulsion in this conflict: in the 1990s half a million Azerbaijani citizens became refugees.

International Stakeholders

American diplomatic efforts became possible because of Russia's weakened position in the South Caucasus.

Over time, Russian authorities attempted towards re-opening the route that now bears US presidential designation.

Despite Moscow's suggestion for Russian security forces to protect the planned route has been rejected, they still patrol the stretch of the Armenia‑Iran border that was selected as the Trump route.

Armenia's Syunik region is also an important center for its exports, and businessmen and trucks from Iran commonly appear. Persian engineering firms are constructing a new bridge that will intersect the planned corridor.

This border waterway that divides Iranian and Armenian territory represents the exact path the corridor will traverse.

Remains uncertain how the US and Iranian companies can operate together in Armenia, considering American participation in Middle Eastern conflicts.

International Collaboration

There is also growing Western involvement in southern Armenia.

France has recently started military equipment transfers to Armenian leadership and established a consulate in Syunik. An EU monitoring mission is deployed to this area, and the proposed corridor European officials view as part of a "middle corridor" connecting Europe to Central Asia and China and avoiding Russian territory.

Turkey is also eager to capitalize on an opening created by diminished Moscow presence.

Ankara is in talks with Armenia to normalise relations and has voiced support for the peace initiative, which would create immediate connectivity from Turkish territory to Azerbaijan through its exclave.

Yerevan's administration appears calm about the various competing interests. Authorities aspire for a "International Peace Junction" where every neighboring nation can collaborate.

"They say everything will be fine and that we can expect billions of euros, modern infrastructure and commercial relations involving Iran, America, Europe, Turkey and Azerbaijan," Marut Vanyan says with an incredulous smile.

An official settlement between the two nations remains unsigned, but one thing is clear: following the American summit, not a single shot has been fired on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border.

The presidential involvement has provided at least temporary relief to those who for years have lived in fear of renewed fighting.