US, Armenia sign strategic partnership on transit corridor

The United States and Armenia signed a strategic partnership agreement on Tuesday, advancing plans for a major transit corridor and cooperation on critical minerals during a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Yerevan. The agreements mark a significant step in Armenia's ongoing pivot toward the West amid strained relations with its traditional ally, Russia.

Rubio and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan signed the documents at Yerevan's Zvartnots International Airport. The centerpiece is a framework for developing the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), a planned 43-kilometer road-and-rail corridor across southern Armenia. The route would connect Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan exclave and provide a link to Turkey, a key Azerbaijani ally.

Rubio stated the agreement marks the biggest step to date in making this historic route a reality, advancing peace, and increasing prosperity in Armenia and the wider region. The specific terms of the latest documents were not publicly released, but officials said they establish details for a joint venture and set up an engineering survey for the corridor. A U.S. State Department framework from January...