Publications
After the visit of US Vice President JD Vance, the South Caucasus is being rewired
By Vasif HUSEYNOV, PhD, Head of Department, AIR Center, Adjunct Lecturer, ADA and Khazar Universities, Baku
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance’s February 9–11 visit to Armenia and Azerbaijan marked a structural turning point in the South Caucasus. Unlike previous high-level engagements of the United States that generated rhetorical alignment but limited follow-through, this visit embedded the region into long-term American economic, technological, and strategic frameworks. Taking place on the heels of the latest agreement (January 14) between Washington and Yerevan on the implementation framework for the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), the visit served to consolidate the American influence in the region and taking it to higher levels. The consequences are unfolding along two axes: domestically, within Armenia and Azerbaijan’s political economies; and geopolitically, in the region’s recalibrating balance between the United States and Russia, with Georgia seeking entry into the new configuration. READ MORE
Publications
Zangezur Energy Corridor Enhancing Regional Energy Connectivity 
By Vusal GULIYEV, Leading Advisor at the Baku-based Center of Analysis of International Relations (AIR Center)
On January 29, construction formally commenced on a new high-voltage transmission system led by Azer Enerji. The project, known as the “Zangezur Energy Corridor,” will integrate Azerbaijan’s Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic into Baku’s national power grid via the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), also known as the Zangezur Corridor. The project will also establish the technical foundations for a future Azerbaijan–Türkiye–Europe electricity corridor. This initiative is one part of Baku’s push to strengthen its role in transregional electricity connectivity, which favours corridor development over isolated infrastructure investment. The launch of the Zangezur Energy Corridor positions Azerbaijan as a regional electricity hub linking Asia and Europe. READ MORE
Publications
Watching TRIPP: China and the art of strategic patience 
By Yeghia TASHJIAN, Beirut-based regional analyst and researcher, columnist, "The Armenian Weekly”
China’s position on the TRIPP (Trump’s Route for International Peace and Prosperity) has been cautious and low-profile, shaped less by enthusiasm for the project itself than by Beijing’s overall policy toward the South Caucasus and the region’s geopolitical rivalries. From China’s perspective, TRIPP is not mutually exclusive with the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). From the U.S. perspective, however, the project carries geopolitical weight, aimed at containing or counterbalancing Russian, Iranian and Chinese influence in Eurasia.
China has evaluated TRIPP primarily through the lens of risk management, given that the route traverses border regions historically vulnerable to conflict and border tensions and lies at the intersection of regional rivalries. This helps explain why Beijing has avoided any public endorsement, opting instead for rhetorical neutrality and a wait-and-see approach — signalling that economic connectivity must be inclusive, territorial integrity respected, trade depoliticized and cooperation insulated from zero-sum geopolitical competition.
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Publications
TRIPP and the Rise of a Trans-Regional Energy Corridor in the South Caucasus
By Vasif HUSEYNOV, PhD, Head of Department, AIR Center, Adjunct Lecturer, ADA and Khazar Universities, Baku
The South Caucasus is entering a new phase of regional energy reconfiguration as Azerbaijan moves forward with plans to transmit electricity to its Nakhichevan exclave through southern Armenia, along the Zangezur corridor. What was once understood mainly as a transport initiative is now, under the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), evolving into an energy corridor with significant regional and geopolitical consequences. The launch of construction on the Zangezur high-voltage transmission line and parallel political signals from Baku, Yerevan, and Ankara suggest that trans-regional energy connectivity may become the most immediate and transformative dimension of post-conflict normalization. On January 29, it was reported that Azerbaijan had begun construction of the Zangezur high-voltage power transmission line, a technically complex project designed to integrate the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic into the country’s unified electricity system and to form a critical segment of an emerging Azerbaijan–Türkiye–Europe electricity corridor. READ MORE
