Media: South Caucasus gains growing importance in US foreign policy
Media: South Caucasus gains growing importance in US foreign policy
The role of the South Caucasus region in the US foreign policy agenda is noticeably increasing, Olaylar informs, citing an article published by Foreign Policy.
The author states that US efforts to normalize relations between Baku and Yerevan could become a key factor in Washington"s Eurasian geopolitics and a potential model for similar conflict-resolution initiatives in other regions of the world.
Negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan have progressed slowly but steadily, including on issues such as border delimitation and easing obstacles to trade. It was the return of the Trump administration that accelerated the peace process, the article says, reminding that in August of last year, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan joined Donald Trump at the White House, where they held a formal ceremony to sign a peace agreement (initial - ed.), including a joint statement that both sides are moving toward final ratification of the agreement that will end the protracted conflict.
The article further notes that Washington is intensifying engagement with Azerbaijan and Armenia.
It also highlights the transit corridor, Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP).
According to the author, despite the relatively short length of the TRIPP corridor - a 42-kilometer section of the Zangazur corridor passing through Armenian territory - its "potential consequences for regional transport connectivity could be enormous."
The new corridor could also shorten the supply route for critical natural resources from Central Asia, including rare earth metals, to Western markets, the article emphasizes.
The piece notes that Azerbaijan"s victory in the Second Karabakh War enabled Baku not only to regain occupied territories but also to leverage those results to restore transport connectivity in the region.
It was precisely the drive for transport and economic connectivity that led Azerbaijan, after the end of hostilities, to put forward initiatives for concluding a peace agreement and normalizing diplomatic relations with Armenia as a mechanism for promoting regional integration, the article says.
The author also believes that US actions are aimed at reducing the influence of Russia and Iran in the region.