Relations between the US and Turkey are important, and the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) project can strengthen them. Senior director of the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center and former US ambassador to Ukraine and Uzbekistan, John Herbst, stated this while being a guest on the Power Factor program of Armenian News-NEWS.am.

Herbst noted that Turkey is interested in the corridor that US President Donald Trump seeks to create in the South Caucasus. He added that Turkey and Azerbaijan have long discussed the matter of such a corridor.

According to Herbst, Trump has a far-sighted understanding of both Central Asia and the South Caucasus, and he showed this six months ago when he met with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and reaffirmed America's interest in sustainable peace in the region.

"And we see progress in this direction. At the same time, he [i.e. Trump] has started talking about a corridor in the South Caucasus that would connect Central Asia, Turkey, and Europe.

In addition, last November he met with the leaders of all the Central Asian countries and confirmed the US interest in the Middle Corridor. The Trump administration wants to connect the Trump corridor with the Central Asian corridor,” Herbst emphasized.

He noted that Trump sent his Vice President JD Vance to Armenia and Azerbaijan to implement these ideas.

“I don’t know if Vance achieved any results or not, but his visit at least contributes to the development of this idea,” the American analyst added.

Also, Herbst emphasized the importance of Central Asia and the South Caucasus—which are located on the borders of Russia, China, and some other important players—for US interests.