Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that the establishment of an Azerbaijan-Azerbaijan transport connection through Armenian territory will be accompanied by a transport link between Armenia’s Syunik Province and the rest of the country through Azerbaijan’s Nakhijevan Autonomous Republic.
Pashinyan made the statement during a question-and-answer session in the National Assembly, responding to an opposition MP’s questions about the implementation of the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) project.
MP Artur Khachatryan asked what steps had been taken to ensure what he described as an “unimpeded domestic connection” for Azerbaijan through Armenian territory, referring to the joint declaration signed by Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Washington on August 8, 2025.
Pashinyan said there is currently no Azerbaijan-Azerbaijan transport connection through Armenia because the necessary infrastructure does not exist.
“There is no communication from Azerbaijan to Azerbaijan through Armenia today, for a simple reason: there are no communications infrastructure, no road, no railway,” Pashinyan said.
He stressed, however, that Armenia itself is also interested in establishing such connectivity.
According to the prime minister, one of the objectives of the TRIPP project is to create transport connectivity between different parts of Armenia. He noted that Armenia currently lacks a railway connection between its northern and southern parts and would therefore benefit from a railway link through Azerbaijan’s territory, particularly through Nakhijevan, to Syunik.
Pashinyan also raised the possibility of restoring railway infrastructure that operated during the Soviet period. He said that once peace is further institutionalized and consolidated, the issue of extending the railway to Kapan could also be considered.
Such a railway connection, he said, would be particularly important for the operations of the Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine and the Kapan mining and processing plant, especially given the heavy traffic and congestion on roads in Syunik.
The prime minister also said that a tender has been announced for the restoration of the railway in the Yeraskh section. He added that Armenian and Azerbaijani delegations had previously conducted an inspection of the area.
During the exchange, Khachatryan also questioned what institutional arrangements were being made to ensure that Armenian cargo, trains, vehicles and other infrastructure – including possible oil and gas pipelines, electricity transmission and internet cables – could connect from Meghri to other parts of Armenia.
Pashinyan said the company envisaged under the TRIPP framework had not yet been established and told the MP that the details of the agreement to be submitted to parliament for ratification would become clear when it was presented.
He also clarified that the agreement to be submitted to the Armenian parliament is an intergovernmental agreement between Armenia and the United States and therefore would not require ratification by Azerbaijan.
National Assembly Deputy Speaker Ruben Rubinyan then summarized Khachatryan’s question, asking whether the transport connection between Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan through Armenian territory would be accompanied by a connection between Meghri and the rest of Armenia through Nakhijevan.
“Definitely and unequivocally,” Pashinyan replied.
