Politics Materials 15 January 2026 17:15 (UTC +04:00)

BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 15. A meeting between Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio shows regional leadership prospects for Azerbaijan, the political analyst Azer Garayev told Trend.

He noted that the ongoing normalization processes in the South Caucasus can be assessed as a positive step in terms of international support.

"The discussions held in Washington show that the U.S. is interested in ensuring long-term stability in the region and considers the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agenda to be one of the main priorities in this process.

In particular, the emphasis on the importance of building the peace process between Baku and Yerevan on institutional foundations coincides with the principled position put forward by Azerbaijan. Baku has repeatedly stated that peace agreements should be based on specific legal mechanisms, mutual recognition, and the principles of international law. In this regard, the opinions expressed in Washington indicate that Azerbaijan’s contributions to the establishment of sustainable peace in the region are also taken into account at the international level," he said.

The analyst recalled that at the same time, the ratification of the framework agreement on the TRIPP (Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity) project raises the prospects for expanding economic and transport ties in the region.

"The success of such initiatives depends primarily on Azerbaijan’s participation and leading role in regional cooperation. Azerbaijan has already turned the South Caucasus into an important transport and energy hub with its own initiatives, and this reality creates a solid foundation for new international projects," he explained.

Garayev pointed out that, in general, the Mirzoyan-Rubio meeting shows that the peace and prosperity agenda is taking on a more realistic content against the backdrop of the constructive position of regional actors, especially Azerbaijan.

"The continuation of the processes in a positive direction will serve both the normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations and the strengthening of stability and cooperation in the South Caucasus," the analyst added.

On January 14, Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs published the agreement signed between Armenia and the United States on implementing the TRIPP project. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met in Washington, where they presented a framework program for the execution of the TRIPP project. The published document was hailed as a significant step toward fulfilling commitments made at the White House on August 8, 2025, to support the establishment of sustainable peace in the South Caucasus.

In their joint statement, Mirzoyan and Rubio emphasized Armenia’s intention to approve and support the creation of the TRIPP Development Company, which will be tasked with overseeing the development of the TRIPP project. The company will be granted the right to implement the project for an initial term of 49 years. Under the terms, Yerevan plans to offer Washington a 74% stake in the TRIPP Development Company while retaining 26%.

On August 8, 2025, in Washington, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint declaration.

During the meeting, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov and Foreign Minister of the Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan initialed the draft “Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and Interstate Relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia.”