U.S. State Department Declines to Comment on Reports of Washington’s Proposal for a Road Linking Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan via Armenia

WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. State Department has declined to comment on reports claiming that Washington proposed a plan to Yerevan and Baku for opening a route connecting Azerbaijan to Nakhichevan through Armenian territory.

“The United States supports efforts that contribute to peace and stability in the South Caucasus. We have no information to share regarding media reports,” a State Department spokesperson told Azatutyun.

Earlier this week, the Carnegie Endowment, citing diplomatic sources, reported that the Trump administration had made a proposal to both Armenia and Azerbaijan regarding the opening of a road linking Azerbaijan to Nakhichevan via Armenia. The proposal reportedly involved delegating the management of the road to a foreign private company. According to Carnegie’s report, “Washington’s proposal is based on American logic that the guarantor of the agreement should be U.S. commerce—as has already happened, for instance, in Ukraine in the context of rare metals transactions.”

Azatutyun inquired with the State Department for clarification: What exactly does the U.S. proposal entail? Which organization would supervise or manage the road through Armenia’s Syunik region? What specific functions would the company fulfill? And has Washington received any response from Yerevan or Baku regarding the proposal? The State Department did not respond to these questions.

Earlier, Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that it had received proposals from international partners regarding unblocking regional communications. Today, Deputy Foreign Minister Mnatsakan Safaryan told Azatutyun that Armenia is not opposed to outsourcing the management of a road through Syunik—as long as the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national jurisdiction are respected.