Suren Sargsyan, director of the Armenian Center for American Studies, wrote on Facebook that one factor in the U.S. decision not to launch a strike against Iran, at least for now, could be concerns about the potential negative impact on the implementation or timing of the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) initiative.
He noted that only a few days remain before U.S. Vice President Vence’s regional visit, which he described as a key phase in advancing Washington’s geopolitical interests in the South Caucasus.
“It must be noted that this advantage is also being achieved at the expense of the region’s weakest link, an unfortunate but real feature of realpolitik. Still, I don’t see this solely as a Trump administration victory, since all U.S. administrations since 1991 have worked on similar scenarios, step by step,” Sargsyan wrote.
In his view, TRIPP currently provides the U.S. with a business presence in the region, but it has the potential to evolve into a strategic American presence, something the South Caucasus has never seen before.
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently signed a joint document in Washington under the TRIPP initiative. The published framework outlines the operational scope of the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, stating explicitly that it creates no legal obligations for either Armenia or the United States.
