Azerbaijan has again made clear that its demands on Armenia are far from over, even as the Pashinyan government continues negotiations with Baku and moves forward with the U.S.-backed Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP).
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov are expected to meet in the near future. Ahead of the talks, Bayramov reiterated Azerbaijan’s demand that Armenia remove references to the 1990 Declaration of Independence from its Constitution before Baku will sign a peace agreement.
The demand effectively requires Armenia to alter its fundamental law to satisfy Azerbaijan, despite repeated claims by the Pashinyan government that peace between the two countries has already been established.
Baku is also pressing ahead on border delimitation, while questions remain over Armenian sovereign territory still under Azerbaijani control and the fate of other unresolved territorial issues.
Meanwhile, U.S. Chargé d’Affaires in Armenia David Allen traveled to Baku on September 8 for discussions that included TRIPP, the route planned through Armenia’s Syunik Province to connect Azerbaijan with Nakhichevan. The U.S. Embassy said the visit was coordinated by its embassies in Yerevan and Baku to support implementation of the project.
Azerbaijan says it is being regularly briefed by Washington on the U.S.-Armenian project and insists that TRIPP cannot be implemented without its participation. Construction, initially expected sooner, has now been pushed back to 2027.
Under the current arrangement, the United States is set to hold a 74 percent stake in the TRIPP development company for the first 50 years, with Armenia holding 26 percent.
The developments again underscore the imbalance surrounding the so-called peace process: while Yerevan continues making commitments and accommodating new arrangements, Baku continues to place additional political and constitutional demands on Armenia without corresponding concessions.
