The TRIPP project will have several railways, power transmission lines and pipelines, which may include a natural gas pipeline, an oil pipeline, cables, and other transport links and roads. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan stated this in his address Friday at the “Crossroads of Peace: Developing Regional Communications” conference in Yerevan.

“The most important record — and perhaps the confusion — here is that many [people’ imagine the TRIPP project as a project occurring or being implemented in a single area. Of course, in principle, there is no circumstance either that would rule out such a thing, but in practice it will not be possible to implement it.

For example, in the case of the railway, it can be stated with certainty where it will pass from; it is our [i.e. Armenia’s] southern railway, which existed during the Soviet Union in the conditional Nrnadzor–Karchevan sections. This is indicated in the Crossroads of Peace project [of Armenia]; obviously, the railway will be built, restored there. First, practically, it is not possible to have a railway elsewhere. Or even if we imagine it is practically possible, that railway would be dozens of times more expensive.

But there is also another circumstance that those who have been on site know that in terms of terrain, the area is quite limited even for a railway, and it is not possible to implement all the infrastructure and projects in this location. Of course, this is a matter for a technical-economic study. For example, [natural] gas pipelines, oil pipelines, power transmission lines can be implemented along other routes that will be more effective and feasible from a technical-economic and engineering point of view,” Pashinyan said.

The premier addressed also the matter of whether any of Armenia’s institutions would have any operational restrictions under the country’s constitution and laws regarding these areas.

“I want to give a clear, unambiguous, definitive answer, leaving no room for misinterpretation: no,” said Nikol Pashinyan.