Processes surrounding TRIPP continue to develop actively, but a substantial part of them is taking place behind closed doors. This was stated by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia Dzunik Aghajanyan.
According to her, preparatory work is proceeding at a fairly rapid pace, while the public learns about various aspects of the process through visits by different delegations and statements by officials of a neighboring state. Aghajanyan stresses that if this were simply a transportation route, such issues would not arise around it.
“The fact that this is not simply a road is demonstrated by the approach used to formulate that document and by the way it is being discussed even today. The document sent to the Constitutional Court was submitted under a secrecy classification, meaning that the discussion is confidential. If it is a road, then what is the problem? If it is going to be a simple, ordinary means of communication operating within the framework of our sovereignty and containing no unnecessary, hidden pitfalls in terms of the state’s territory, then what is the problem with discussing it openly and presenting it to the public in its entirety? We understand very well that this is not the case,” the ambassador says.
According to her, the very fact that management of a section located on Armenian territory is being transferred to another state for almost a century demonstrates that this is not an ordinary road.
“If it were simply a road, we would have at least a 51 percent stake. We would have veto power regarding changes to the percentages and ownership of the remaining shares. We would have the right to veto changing or suspending it at some point. We would have veto power regarding the transfer of those remaining shares to us,” the ambassador says.
According to Aghajanyan, other questions are also emerging around the process, including regarding Azerbaijan’s demands that Armenian officials should not be present on the route.
“There would be no issue of Azerbaijan making certain demands that they should not see Armenian officials on that road. There would be no issue of introducing, through the European Union, some organization such as Frontex — in other words, an entirely different system — and introducing it in such a way that Azerbaijan’s wishes are fulfilled and Armenian officials, customs officers or border guards are not present there,” she notes.
The ambassador also emphasizes that clear answers to a number of fundamental questions are still lacking. In particular, it is not known how wide the allocated route will be or what other communications will pass through that territory.
“There are various statements, but we do not have a clear, normal and transparent explanation for our population of what is being planned — the kind of transparency these authorities promised in 2018,” Aghajanyan says.
According to her, information is also circulating that American private companies could be involved in ensuring the security of the route.
“It is possible that American companies will be deployed to ensure the security of the road, the security of this so-called road. The question then arises: is this not a Western military presence which, in the context of today’s geopolitical developments, means simply turning us into a target that will immediately come under threat in the context of upcoming developments against Iran?” she says.
Aghajanyan also raises the question of the legal basis on which this infrastructure will be constructed on Armenian territory if it is financed or built with the participation of other parties. According to her, if Azerbaijan and Turkey are financing the process, it should be clear what they are receiving in return.
According to Aghajanyan, TRIPP is “not simply a road” but a route based on a “corridor logic.” She also links the TRIPP process to regional and broader geopolitical developments. According to her, Armenia’s enemies view this territory as infrastructure necessary for possible military operations against Iran.
“Against the backdrop of today’s American failures, the factor of ground operations is becoming even more important, and today they are developing that plan. Both Turkey and Azerbaijan have roles to play in terms of ground operations,” she says.
According to Aghajanyan, those states have undertaken such commitments while extracting corresponding concessions from Armenia.
“And every time Azerbaijan and Turkey demand new concessions from Armenia as the price for fulfilling their commitments. In other words, the bill is being paid at the expense of our state and our people,” the ambassador says.
In her assessment, these processes have placed Armenia at the epicenter of a geopolitical confrontation.
“In the developments ahead, we will be trampled underfoot,” she says.
According to the ambassador, under these conditions it is impossible to speak of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
“Peace does not exist at all — it does not exist between us and Azerbaijan, nor can it exist under these conditions, nor does it largely exist in our region as a whole. And globally, we are entering a phase of even more turbulent developments, an even more acute phase, and these developments are not far away — it is a matter of weeks or months,” she says.
According to her, statements and actions by Azerbaijani officials demonstrate that it is premature to speak of the establishment of peace.
“We do not have to look far. Hajiyev’s behavior in Artsakh, Aliyev’s statements in his interviews, and these manifestations by various officials openly demonstrate that there can be no peace when, within your own state, you raise a generation on the basis of hatred and try to build your own nation through it,” she says.