Expert explains Trump's interest in the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict

US President Donald Trump's interest in resolving the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict stems from his desire to control logistics in the South Caucasus, Alexei Martynov, associate professor at the Financial University under the Government of Russia and director of the International Institute of Newest States, told RIA Novosti.

"Washington's interest is not only in resolving the 30-year dispute. First and foremost, control over Zangezur provides control over all regional logistics and affects not only the South Caucasus, but also the interests of Iran and China. This is one of the routes of the Belt and Road Initiative. Of course, this is linked to Erdogan's (Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan - ed.) vivid imagination about the region, including the Syrian issue with projections onto Israel and beyond. Trump's interest is understandable. Especially since he honestly guarantees that tenants will pay into the treasury and more. For Azerbaijan, the most important thing is guarantees of uninterrupted communication with the enclave and the development of infrastructure, which has also been promised," Martynov said.

In his opinion, this is precisely why Trump “lured the signatories to initial the agreement for the sake of PR.”

"If we disregard the PR effect of the event in Washington, the text of this peace agreement was developed over the past year with the active assistance of mediators, former members of the Minsk Group—Russia, France, and others. Another issue is that at the moment of completion, the parties got stuck on the question of the Zangezur corridor — a road that runs through Armenian territory and connects Azerbaijan and its enclave on the border with Iran, Nakhchivan. As a result of joint consultations and on Trump's wise advice, he proposed to resolve the issue by having an American corporation lease this logistics route," the expert noted.

Martynov added that sometimes initialed agreements are not signed.

“Remember how in 2003 the signing of the Transnistrian settlement fell through, even though the text of the Kozak memorandum had also been initialed by the parties,” he concluded.

Earlier, following the meeting between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, US President Donald Trump, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Washington, a declaration was adopted on the initialing by the foreign ministers of the two Transcaucasian republics of the agreed text of the agreement on the establishment of peace and interstate relations . Yerevan also agreed to cooperate with the US and third parties to create the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity,” connecting Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan autonomy through the territory of Armenia.

It was reported that Armenia plans to grant the US exclusive rights to develop a long-term transit corridor, which will be called the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity.” The route will operate in accordance with Armenian law, and the United States will sublease the land to a consortium involved in infrastructure and management.

Reprinted from https://ria.ru/