On Friday, leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a peace agreement at the White House. Afterward, they suggested that President Trump should win the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan goes back to the 1980s, but I confess that I was unaware of it until Friday’s peace announcement.
There is more to the deal than a mere ceasefire. Forbes reports that a key element of the deal is cooperative completion of a trade corridor that will have both economic and strategic benefits:
Through its ambitious proposal for the Zangezur Corridor—a strategic 43-kilometer passage through Armenia’s Syunik province—Washington aims to break decades-old deadlocks, diversify Europe’s energy supplies away from Russia, and counter the growing influence of Moscow, Beijing, and Tehran in a critical transit region.
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World Bank modeling suggests the corridor could unlock $50-100 billion in annual trade value by 2027. This surge would be driven by dramatic logistical improvements—Bloomberg data from May 2025 indicates the route could cut Europe-Asia transit times by 12-15 days compared to existing routes.
That’s great. The security implications could be even more important:
The corridor’s success would fundamentally alter regional power dynamics, explaining why rival powers are recalibrating their strategies. Iran faces the prospect of losing 20-30 percent of its transit role, disrupting critical trade lifelines including the 43,000 Turkish trucks that pass annually to Central Asia. Russia confronts potential revenue losses of $10-20 billion over a decade and a 10-15 percent erosion of its leverage over European energy markets.
There is much more at the link. The Armenia/Azerbaijan/U.S. agreement appears to be a great idea. Will the peace hold, and will the corridor be completed, with major economic and political gains? Time will tell. But Nobel prizes have been awarded for much less.
In the meantime, President Trump can claim some credit: the Zangezur Corridor is also known as the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity,” or TRIPP.
