BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 9. We are trying to be a stronger transit country, said President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in an interview with the Azerbaijani press in Washington, Trend reports.
"We want integration between the two parts of our country with a safe passage, which will bring many opportunities for the broader region and for Armenia itself. At one of the meetings with the Armenian Prime Minister, I said Armenia will have a chance to become a transit country. I said, “You don’t know what it is to be a transit country. You are not, and you can be a transit country only through Azerbaijan.” Without Azerbaijan, there is no way to be a transit country, and you will see the benefits of being a transit country.
We are trying to be a stronger transit country. We want corridors crossing our territory to be more engaged in cargo transportation. This brings money, jobs, and political leverage. These are opportunities which Armenia deprived itself of for many years.
So this transportation route, the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), will be another historical achievement. But again, as I said before, we should not lose time. We need to engage as soon as possible. The United States will be managing this facility, and hopefully there will be investors who will undertake these important duties to build these connectivity lines to the benefit of all the nations in the region," said President Ilham Aliyev.