BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 7. It is time to move forward the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), as one year passes since the Washington summit, Robert Cekuta, former ambassador of the U.S. to Azerbaijan, told Trend.
Talking about the progress since the historic Washington summit of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, brokered by the U.S. President Donald Trump, he noted that visits by Vice President Vance, Secretary of State Rubio, and other senior U.S. figures to the South Caucasus region demonstrate how much progress has been made towards lasting peace and also the seriousness of U.S. interest in the region’s people and development.
“That said, more needs to be done. First of all the signature and ratification of a final peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia — the conditions are in place for this to happen, and Prime Minister Pashinyan’s victory in the recent elections reaffirms Armenians’ interest in peace and continuing to move forward. It would be good to see Washington engage more actively to help Azerbaijan and Armenia complete the work of ending the conflict and putting in place a lasting peace agreement,” he said.
Cekuta pointed out that another area where more needs to be done is getting the work on the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity — the TRIPP — moving ahead.
“While it is necessary to have discussions and to develop plans, we need to see them being moved forward, i.e., actual construction starting. Getting projects off the drawing board and into the execution stage will show Armenians and Azerbaijanis that real progress is being achieved and is benefitting them in concrete ways.
I would also come back to something I have long stressed: the need for increased, ongoing contacts between Armenians and Azerbaijanis to change the dynamics in the region after decades of conflict, of killings, of fear of each other. Again, the United States has a lot of experience in helping former enemies build positive, friendly relations after years and even generations of hatred. We — the United States — should be bringing this experience to the region to help Azerbaijanis and Armenians build the lasting peace they both want,” noted the former ambassador.
He believes that a lasting peace agreement would mean benefits for both sides, and for the broader region as well.
“Among the benefits would be increased trade and other business opportunities. These opportunities would come not just from increased transit — road and rail — through the region, including the TRIPP serving as a connection between other parts of Europe with Central Asia and beyond to India and China, but also from foreign investment and local entrepreneurs establishing new ventures or expanding existing ones that take advantage of the improved access within the region and from the region to other parts of the world.
One of the things I learned working in the region and after is that the old Silk Road was not a highway connecting China with Europe, but really more of a web of cities where goods were invented and produced, where value was added. That web of creativity brought benefits, not just to the Chinese and Europeans, but to the cities and towns along the way. That history can be repeated in the region today with the TRIPP, with the opening of the border between Türkiye and Armenia, with increased linkages across the Caspian and beyond,” he said.
Cekuta noted that the essential thing right now is to get projects off the drawing board and out of the MOU stage and to start turning over earth, pouring concrete, seeing buildings being built.
“I know the U.S. has made money available through the Export Import Bank and the Development Finance Corporation. As I noted above, the potential benefits to Azerbaijanis and Armenians, to Turks, Kazakhs, Uzbeks, to Europeans on the western side of the Black Sea and others are well-known. The best way to mark the August 8th anniversary of last year’s historic White House meetings would be to see the infrastructure and business projects talked about in Azerbaijan and Armenia actually underway,” he concluded.
On August 8, 2025, following a trilateral meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint declaration on establishing peace between Baku and Yerevan and restoring transport connectivity between mainland Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. The initiative was named the "Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity."
As part of the meeting, Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Armenia's Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan initialed the draft "Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and Interstate Relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia" and signed a joint appeal by the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia to the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office calling for the termination of the OSCE Minsk Process, the mandate of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on the conflict dealt with by the Minsk Conference, and the High-Level Planning Group.
