Overview

• The declaration creates a 43-kilometre Trump Route granting the US exclusive development rights for a transit corridor through southern Armenia linking Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan but carries no legal force.
• Azerbaijan insists Armenia must remove constitutional references to Nagorno-Karabakh before signing a formal peace treaty, prompting Yerevan to draft amendments ahead of its 2026 elections.
• Key operational terms—customs procedures, security oversight and Armenian reciprocal passage into Azerbaijani territory—remain undefined and threaten to stall implementation.
• An adviser to Iran’s supreme leader has vowed to block the corridor, citing regional security risks and conducting military exercises near Iran’s northwest border.
• President Trump lifted decades-old US restrictions on military cooperation with Azerbaijan, signaling a deeper American role in Caucasus diplomacy as Russian influence wanes.