Anna Grigoryan, head of the opposition Armenia parliamentary faction, has announced that her political force will vote against the Armenian-U.S. framework agreement concerning the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) project.
According to Grigoryan, Azerbaijan’s interests are reflected more directly in the document than Armenia’s, Radio Azatutyun reports.
“In practice, it is considered a bilateral agreement. The two parties are Armenia and the U.S. But the document’s content involves a third party, namely Azerbaijan. Moreover, Azerbaijan’s interests are reflected more directly in this document than Armenia’s own interests.
“What does one of the parties receive? The U.S. gains a direct presence in the region, along the border with Iran, in an important strategic area. Azerbaijan gains a connection between its main territory and Nakhchivan, something that has been a dream and a strategic objective for Azerbaijan and Turkey. The realization of that objective is reflected in this document.
“What does Armenia receive? When the political majority tries to answer that question, the first word it uses is ‘unblocking.’ Yet no transport connections are actually unblocked on the ground, and no borders are opened. In other words, the very first answer is already incorrect,” Grigoryan said.
The other parliamentary opposition force, Strong Armenia, has also sharply criticized the strategic cooperation framework agreement concerning the TRIPP project. However, the party has not yet clarified how it intends to vote.
The strategic cooperation framework agreement between Armenia and the United States concerning the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity project was initialed on May 26 this year and signed on June 4. Under the agreements reached, the Trump Route through Armenia’s Syunik region is intended to provide unhindered transit between Azerbaijan’s main territory and Nakhchivan using digital tools.
At the same time, official representatives of Armenia and the United States have reaffirmed that Armenia will retain full jurisdiction over its sovereign territory during the project’s implementation.
