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A Trump Bridge might still span Armenia, connecting Azerbaijan [1]
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Date: 2025-08
While Armenia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty cannot be outsourced, the management of railways and highways can, said the prime minister’s spokeswoman. (Photo: mtad.am)
It seems that the concept of a “Trump Bridge” is still under discussion among US, Armenian and Azerbaijani officials.
In late July, Armenian officials heatedly denied reports that a deal had been finalized, dubbed the Trump Bridge, under which a land connection between Azerbaijan proper and its Nakhchivan exclave would be established, traversing Armenian territory and managed by an American private operator. One official announced that Yerevan had rejected the American proposal, which appears to be an adaptation of what Azerbaijani officials describe as the “Zangezur corridor” and Armenians call the “Syunik road.”
On July 31, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s press secretary, Nazeli Baghdasaryan, reiterated in a social media posting that no deal is in place, but indicated the idea is still on the table. While not specifically saying negotiations are continuing, she proceeded to offer a convoluted clarification of the issue.
The government, Baghdasaryan insisted, “is not discussing and will not discuss such options for transport links passing through its own territory that are incompatible with the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and jurisdiction of the Republic of Armenia.”
Although the country’s sovereignty can’t be “outsourced,” the press secretary added, “the business management of railways, pipelines, and power lines can. By the way, the maintenance and management of highways in Armenia today and always has been outsourced to private companies.”
The transport corridor issue has many “nuances, which sometimes become more complicated when combined with certain terms: rental, leasing, construction rights, outsourcing,” Baghdasaryan also noted.
Baghdasaryan’s offered her clarification amid ongoing reports that the Trump administration is actively trying to push Armenia and Azerbaijan across the finish line to sign a peace agreement after over 35 years of conflict. A peace pact reportedly is ready for signing, but Azerbaijani officials have stated several issues, including the corridor matter, must be resolved before they sign the document.
On July 30, US Senator Steve Daines of Montana, widely seen as an administration point man for foreign policy in the region, wrote in a commentary published by the Wall Street Journal that “Trump is on the cusp of bringing about a peace deal in the South Caucasus between Armenia and Azerbaijan.”
“This pending agreement will alter the course of geopolitics in a way that benefits not only the South Caucasus and Central Asia but the US and our allies for decades to come,” Daines added.
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