US Congressman Abraham Hamadeh says the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process is moving faster than many expected and predicts a final peace agreement could be reached well before the end of US President Donald Trump's current term, RFE/RL reports.

In an interview with RFE/RL, Hamadeh described the proposed Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) as more than an economic project, arguing it could bind Armenia and Azerbaijan together politically and economically while opening the South Caucasus to greater Western trade and investment.

"And so, from my experience being over there, both in Baku and Yerevan, it's going very smoothly, and both sides are absolutely committed to ensuring the South Caucasus is peaceful and prosperous," he said.

At the same time, Hamadeh acknowledged that some challenges remain.

“There are some prisoners the Armenians would like back from Azerbaijan. Each side has their own opinions on all of these issues. One of the things I believe is going to help is not just Azerbaijan and Armenia's relationship, but Turkey and Armenia's relationship, which I think has been a little bit understated lately. Both sides agreed to open up their borders to start off with diplomatic crossings back in 2022. That still has not been implemented yet. We hope to see their border open up just so that Armenia gets another avenue for trade other than going to Russia or Georgia or Iran. So we need to ensure the Turkish border with Armenia opens up,” Hamadeh noted.

“The Russian influence with Armenia is stronger than, say, in the other Caucasus countries, and you can't trust the Russians. And right now they're very much distracted by the Ukrainian war...and they're realizing there's this big void that the United States is stepping into right now,” the US congressman added.