BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 8. The United States has highlighted the progress made over the past year since the Washington Summit between Azerbaijan and Armenia, pointing to advances in the implementation of the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP).
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the remarks in a statement issued on August 8, 2026, marking the first anniversary of the Washington Summit.
"One year ago today, President Trump secured peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan when he hosted President Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Prime Minister Pashinyan of Armenia together at the White House and witnessed their signing of a historic Joint Declaration," Rubio said.
According to him, the declaration ended decades of conflict in the South Caucasus and launched the TRIPP project.
Rubio noted that over the past 12 months, the United States has worked alongside Armenia and Azerbaijan to turn the agreements reached at the summit into practical progress.
"TRIPP – a multimodal transit route that will modernize rails, road, energy and digital infrastructure – is on its way to becoming a reality, with engineering surveys for the railway in Armenia already underway and Azerbaijan’s near completion of a highway and railroad to connect into Armenia," the statement reads.
The U.S. Secretary of State also emphasized that peace has opened the way for stronger ties between the United States, Armenia and Azerbaijan, contributing to the economic prosperity of all three countries.
Rubio announced the launch of the Trans-Caspian Enterprise Fund, which will support private-sector investment along the Trans-Caspian Trade Route, also known as the Middle Corridor, in the South Caucasus and Central Asia.
According to him, the fund is now operational, with a newly elected board of directors and $201 million in U.S. government funding.
"This progress reflects a simple truth: peace and prosperity reinforce one another. TRIPP is more than an infrastructure project – it is a vital link in the Trans-Caspian Trade Route, a driver of commercial opportunities for the United States and others, and a model for how economic cooperation can cement peace following the resolution of long-standing disputes," Rubio said.
He reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to working with Azerbaijan and Armenia to build on the foundation established over the past year.
"We congratulate both nations on the courage and vision they have shown over the past year, and we look forward to continued progress toward a durable, lasting peace in the South Caucasus," Rubio stated.
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.
