Yerevan, Baku to link energy systems under TRIPP project

Armenia and Azerbaijan will connect their energy systems as part of the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) project, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in parliament on Wednesday.

“The energy systems of Armenia and Azerbaijan will definitely be interconnected, and on a reciprocal basis, both sides will have the same opportunities to export and import electricity,” Pashinyan said.

Pashinyan’s remarks came amid discussions in parliament about regional connectivity projects and their economic implications. The prime minister stressed that the planned interconnection would function on mutually agreed terms, allowing both countries to access cross-border electricity trade.

The TRIPP initiative envisions restoring and developing transport and energy links in the South Caucasus following a normalization deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The project has been presented by the Armenian government as part of broader efforts to open regional routes and integrate Armenia into cross-border economic networks, while Baku views it mainly as a connection between its mainland territory and its Nakhichevan exclave through Armenia’s southern Syunik region. 

According to the details revealed by Armenian and U.S. officials earlier this month, the project would allow Azerbaijani trucks and trains to enter Armenia without direct contact with Armenian border guards. Instead, third-party intermediaries would collect documents and fees and pass them on to Armenian officers working in a so-called back office. 

Officials have said the arrangement would ensure Armenia retains full sovereignty over the territory and its borders, with all Armenian laws remaining in force. The project is to be managed by a joint Armenian-American venture. 

U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Kristina Kvien told CivilNet last month that construction of a railway connection would come first. Other components, including a highway, an oil pipeline, and power transmission lines, will follow later.

Armenia currently has a diversified energy mix that includes hydropower, thermal power plants, a nuclear power station, as well as solar and wind generation, and it already exports part of its electricity to neighboring Georgia and Iran.