Azerbaijan and Armenia to integrate power grids under US-backed TRIPP corridor

Azerbaijan and Armenia are set to integrate their energy systems to facilitate the import and export of electricity, marking a significant step in the normalization of regional ties.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who made the announcement during a parliamentary session, did not provide a specific timeline or technical details regarding the integration. He stated that the move is a component of a planned strategic transit corridor through the South Caucasus known as the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP).

Armenia and Azerbaijan remained in a state of war for nearly four decades over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. However, following a meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House last August, the two nations signed a US-brokered peace framework.

The proposed TRIPP project is designed to pass through southern Armenia, providing Azerbaijan with a direct route to its Nakhchivan exclave, which borders Türkiye.

According to a joint statement released following a meeting in Washington earlier this month between Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Armenia will grant a 74% stake in the TRIPP Development Company to the US for a period of 49 years, while retaining the remaining shares. Under the terms of the agreement, the US company will be granted exclusive rights to develop the corridor, with an option to extend the deal for another 50 years. During the extension period, Armenia’s share in the company is slated to rise to 49%. Yerevan will maintain full sovereignty over its borders, customs, taxation, and security under the agreement.

The project envisions the construction or modernization of railway infrastructure, oil and gas pipelines, and fiber-optic cables across the South Caucasus—a strategically vital region situated between Russia, Iran, and Türkiye.

In a sign of gradually improving relations, Azerbaijan has begun sending gasoline shipments to Armenia for the first time in approximately thirty years.

Despite these developments, a formal peace treaty has yet to be signed. Azerbaijan continues to demand that Armenia amend the preamble of its constitution. Baku argues that the current text contains indirect territorial claims to Azerbaijani land.

Pashinyan, who faces parliamentary elections in June, has called for a referendum to amend the constitution, though a specific date for the vote has not yet been established.