MOSCOW, May 12. /TASS/. The prospects for launching the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) project are bleak in light of the US-Iran conflict, Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Fourth CIS Department Mikhail Kalugin said in an interview with TASS.
"A number of experts believe that, given the Iranian-American conflict, the prospects for launching the Trump Route are bleak. They note that in addition to Iran’s negative perception of the US presence on its northern borders, American control over the route from Central Asia to Europe, of which the Trump Route is intended to be a part, could also generate mistrust among Asian partners. And without Chinese and Russian cargo, it will be extremely difficult to recoup the investment in the project," the diplomat noted.
According to Kalugin, there are a number of objective factors in this matter that must be taken into account. "These include the presence of Russian border guards on the Armenian-Iranian border, the need to lay a Russian-standard railway line for a seamless connection with the Azerbaijani one, the concession of South Caucasus Railways CJSC to manage the Armenian railway network, which is valid until 2038, and the inclusion of Armenia in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) single customs space," the diplomat continued.
