Under Trump Route Armenia’s state services to operate at all border and customs checkpoints: Highlights from Mirzoyan’s press conference

Following his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan held a press conference to present the joint statement on the framework for implementing the TRIPP initiative between Armenia and the United States, and to answer questions from journalists.

Key points from Mirzoyan’s press conference include:

• The document repeatedly emphasizes that the TRIPP project will be implemented under the full sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia.
• What has been agreed upon is what has been put on paper and published. There are no undisclosed conditions that were negotiated, agreed upon, but withheld from publication for any reason.
• The TRIPP development company will have a US-controlled majority stake, however, there will be a number of fundamental issues over which Armenia will retain control. In such matters, regardless of shareholding size, no decisions can be made without Armenia’s consent.
• Armenian state services will operate at all of Armenia’s border and customs checkpoints.
• Throughout the entire TRIPP coverage area, the presence of Armenian customs and border guard officers will be ensured in emergency situations.
• Explaining the “front office–back office” model, Mirzoyan said that when an individual, border crosser, or — in the case of business — a client visits a country or company to receive a service, they interact only with a streamlined, customer-facing interface operating on a “one-stop-shop” principle. The internal processes — data handling, analysis, and decision-making — take place behind the scenes in the “back office.”
• Addressing questions about why only 26% of TRIPP company shares will belong to Armenia, while 74% will be held by the United States, Mirzoyan stated: “It is no secret that the United States will be making large-scale investments, while Armenia’s contribution will be the right to development. I believe this is a fairly balanced distribution, especially considering that it applies only to the next 49 years. Armenia will grant development rights for the TRIPP project, but no Armenian land will be alienated.”
• According to Mirzoyan, the key prerequisites for the project’s success include the further institutionalization of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan, progress toward the full normalization of Armenia–Turkey relations, sustained US engagement, regional cooperation, and stability.