Earlier, both Iran and Russia had voiced concerns about a U.S. role in a proposed transit route through Armenia, which Azerbaijan has demanded as a link to its Nakhichevan exclave.
In a declaration signed by Pashinian, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on August 9, Armenia, in particular, pledged to grant the United States exclusive rights to this connectivity project, which has been dubbed the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) in honor of the U.S. leader.
While speaking to journalists on Sunday Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian acknowledged that Armenia and Azerbaijan had met Tehran’s demands not to jeopardize its northern border connections, he still expressed concern over a U.S. role in building the road through Armenia’s southern Syunik province, which borders the Islamic Republic.
Russia, meanwhile, quickly reminded both Armenia and Azerbaijan that their trilateral agreements signed in 2020 remained valid, noting that neither party has formally withdrawn from them. The agreements, which ended a six-week Armenian-Azerbaijani war over Nagorno-Karabakh, included provisions for regional connectivity with Russian involvement.
“We will carefully assess Washington’s statements regarding the restoration of regional communications,” Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said in a comment released on Saturday.
She added that “the most suitable option to resolve the problems in the South Caucasus is to search for and implement solutions developed by the region’s countries themselves, with support from their direct neighbors – Russia, Iran, and Türkiye.”
According to Pashinian’s press office, while briefing Pezeshkian on the results of the recent negotiations in Washington, the Armenian leader highlighted “the opportunities that peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan opens up for the region.”
He reportedly stressed that “regional communication channels will operate within the framework of the principles of territorial integrity, sovereignty, and jurisdiction of countries, and on the basis of reciprocity.”
The press release also noted that Pashinian thanked the Iranian leader for his “objective assessment of the Washington agreements” and underscored the importance of Pezeshkian’s upcoming visit to Armenia.
According to Iran’s Mehr news agency, during the phone call Pezeshkian emphasized the preservation of Armenia’s sovereignty over the transit route and the non-interference of any military or security force in its implementation.
“It must be ensured that this path will truly be a path of peace and development, not a tool for achieving the hegemonic goals of foreigners,” he added.
In his phone call with Putin, the Armenian premier reportedly presented “the results of the negotiations held on August 8, 2025 in the U.S. capital Washington, in particular the initialing of the “Agreement on Peace and Interstate Relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan”, the joint application to the OSCE on the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group mechanisms, the unblocking of regional communications within the framework of the principles of territorial integrity, sovereignty, and jurisdiction of countries and on the basis of reciprocity, as well as the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” project.”
He reportedly expressed conviction that the establishment of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan “opens up new opportunities not only for Armenia and Azerbaijan, but also for all countries in the region.”
“The interlocutors agreed to continue active contacts and political dialogue,” the press release concluded.
Pashinian reportedly presented the results of the Washington talks also in phone calls with other world leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.