Opposition lawmakers intensified their criticism of the Armenian government on Friday, demanding clarity on the practical arrangements for a special transit corridor that Yerevan plans to open for Azerbaijan.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan pledged during his August 8 meeting in Washington with U.S. President Donald Trump and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to grant the United States exclusive rights to oversee the project. Yet, crucial details of the deal remain undisclosed.
“Under what conditions and for what duration will the management and operation rights of this unhindered road for Azerbaijanis through Meghri be granted? What legal framework and regulations will govern it?” asked Lilit Galstyan, a deputy from the opposition Hayastan alliance, during a parliamentary session.
Eduard Hakobyan, head of the State Revenue Committee, offered no concrete answers.
“I reiterate that Armenia’s customs service will operate [at the corridor],” Hakobyan said. “As for the specifics, they are still under discussion.”
Baku insists that Armenian border and customs officers must not physically check travelers or cargo moving between Azerbaijan proper and its Nakhichevan exclave through Syunik. Pashinyan appeared to accept this demand earlier this week, saying that “modern technology” would be used to prevent physical contact between Armenian officers and Azerbaijani travelers.
Opposition leaders argue that this confirms their warnings: the so-called Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) is effectively an extraterritorial “Zangezur corridor” long sought by Baku. They also dismiss government assurances that Armenia will enjoy reciprocal rights to ship goods through Azerbaijan to other countries.
Hayastan lawmakers pointed out that the joint declaration signed by Pashinyan and Aliyev in Washington mentions only “unhindered communication” between Nakhichevan and the rest of Azerbaijan. Tadevos Avetisyan, another opposition deputy, questioned whether Armenian businesses would risk using Azerbaijan as a transit country at all.
“Would you personally escort your goods across 850 kilometers of Azerbaijani territory to Russia by train or truck?” Avetisyan asked pro-government parliamentarians, citing security concerns.
Meanwhile, senior U.S. State Department official Brendan Hanrahan visited Yerevan on Thursday to discuss the TRIPP project with Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan. Following the talks, Hanrahan announced that Washington plans to allocate $145 million to implement the initiative.
