US taking steps to accelerate TRIPP talks, writes Eurasianet

The United States has announced the formation of working groups in Armenia and Azerbaijan to accelerate efforts to get the trade route known as TRIPP across the finish line, Eurasianet writes.

As noted, during visits to Yerevan and Baku respectively, US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker announced the establishment of working groups to flesh out details of TRIPP’s construction timeline and planned operations. Sonata Coulter, Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs, has been tapped to oversee the working groups’ functions.

PM Nikol Pashinyan predicted earlier in November that work on TRIPP would commence in late 2026, but a wide array of issues – including border delimitation and leasing terms for the firms that will administer and provide security for the route – remain to be settled. The working groups intend to expedite negotiations on a general agreement.

Work on connecting TRIPP to Europe’s rail network is already underway, according to Azerbaijan Railways chief Rovshan Rustamov.

Meanwhile, a State Department senior advisor, Jonathan Askonas, who accompanied Hooker in Yerevan and Baku, made a side trip to Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, for discussions on trade and connectivity issues. Georgian government officials used the occasion to complain about the “the current level of relations.”