Pashinyan argued in absentia with the former Armenian president over the US's goals in the TRIPP project

On Thursday, January 29, former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan stated that the "Trump Route" project would pose the country's "biggest security threat," Azatutyun reported.

He believes that the initiative, officially presented as an Armenian-American project, actually serves the interests of Azerbaijan and Turkey, while Armenia is not a full party.

"TRIPP is an Armenian-American project for Azerbaijan and Turkey: Armenia is not a party, it is a semi-participant," Kocharyan emphasized.

The politician believes that the US is not pursuing economic gain in this project and its only interest is Iran, which they are trying to control.

"This program could neutralize Iranian concerns if other countries join it," the former president noted.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, in turn, commented on the nature and cost of the TRIPP project. He emphasized that the initiative entails an influx of hundreds of millions of dollars and is driven by pragmatic US economic interests. Thus, the head of the Armenian government rejected Kocharyan's assertion that the project is merely an instrument of political control.