Empty railway station along Trump’s route to peace where global interests collide

An abandoned station, a few rusty carriages and a dozen meters of the track are all that is left of a Soviet rail line in southern Armenia.

It may seem unlikely, but this abandoned section of the track in the South Caucasus has been eavesdropped to become a symbol of peace, mediated by the US president, along Trump’s route for international peace and prosperity or Trip.

Fragments from head from monument to a communist hero are scattered. A female statue lacks a hand.

“We are along the Trump route, also known as the Crossroads of Peace, the Silk Road and the Corridor of Zangzur,” says Marut Vanyan, a local journalist. “But so far, none of this looks American.”

This is one of the “non -de -deed wars” that Trump claims to have put an end to an agreement between Armenia and his longtime enemy Azerbaijan.

The plan is planned by US companies moving under a 99-year deal to develop 43 km (26 miles) route across the Armenian territory along its entire border with Iran, in a corridor connecting Azerbaijan with its exclusion from a levied one.

All railway, highways and pipelines have been promised and Trump talks about companies that spend “a lot of money, which will be economically beneficial for our three nations.”

On Earth, the scale of the challenge is clear. This transport connection will have to be built from scratch, but political obstacles are far from exceeding economic problems.

Trump’s intervention can reshape the geopolitics of a region for which Russia claims an influence. Tehran hardras are also worried and threatened to block the project.

Tripp’s proposal is key to ending a conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which began over Nagorno-Karabach, part of Azerbaijan, historically populated by Armenians.

In 2023, Azerbaijan restored the controversial region and almost all of Armenia’s population escaped from its homes. This was not the first such expulsion in this conflict: in the 1990s, over 500,000 Azerbaijani were displaced.

Vanyan was among those who escaped from their homes in 2023.

After escaping the war, he settled in the southern province of Armenia in Siyounik, just as it became a new hot spot between the two neighbors.

Azerbaijan asked Armenia to give part of this region as a “corridor” to its node on an entrant. The region is also known as Zangzur, and the proposal is marked the “Zangzur Corridor”.

But when Armenia rejected the request, the clashes erupted at the border and many were afraid of a new war.

Then, in August 2025, Trump unexpectedly interrupted the impasse. The host of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the Prime Minister of Armenia Nicole Pashinyan in the White House, he proposed a solution designed to satisfy both parties.

Trump’s future route promises both “unobstructed connectivity” for Azerbaijan and “complete respect” to the sovereignty of Armenia. The route will be managed by a private US company.

Both nations leaders say the Washington meeting has restored peace in their region and praised Trump’s intervention as a change of game.

But the document they have signed is thin with details and does not offer a time line to build Tripp.

US mediation has become possible due to Russia’s weakened situation in the Southern Caucasus.

For years, the Kremlin has been working to reopen the route, which is now named the US president.

And although Russia’s proposal for its FSB border guards to guard the future path has been rejected, they are still patrolling the area of ​​the Armenia -Iran border, which was selected as Trump’s route.

While the BBC shoot on the ground, a Russian FSB patrol has drawn before us. A young man in a uniform asked us about a drone who was shooting the border from above. We said this was not ours and the Russian patrol continued.

The region of Armenia Cynik is also a key center for its export, and Iran’s businessmen and trucks are a well -known view. Iranian construction companies are building a new bridge that will cross the future trip.

The Aras River, which divides the Islamic Republic, and Armenia is the very line that is set by the route.

It is not clear how US and Iranian companies will exist in Armenia, given the US recent participation in the Israeli-Iranian war.

Senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader has threatened to turn Trip into a “tomb for the mercenaries of Donald Trump”, but the government of Iran is more remembered.

Iran is a friend and neighbor of both the Caucasus and Armenia told Tehran that the project was not a threat to his interests.

There is also an increased European presence in southern Armenia.

Recently, France started selling a weapon to Yerevan and opened a consulate in Syunik. The EU Monitoring Mission is located in the region and Trump’s future route is viewed by the EU as part of the Middle Corridor, which connects it to Central Asia and China and bypasses Russia.

Turkey is also eager to take advantage of the discovery created by the reduction of Russian influence.

Ankara talks to Armenia to normalize relations and express support for Trip, which would create a direct connection from Turkey to Azerbaijan through its extrave.

The Armenia government seems peaceful for the various competitive interests. He wants to become the “Crossroads of Peace” where all regional forces will cooperate.

“They say everything will be fine and that there will be billions of euro investments, new roads and trade with Iran, America, Europe, Turkey and Azerbaijan,” says Marut Vanyan with an incorrect smile.

The official peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia has not yet been signed, but one thing is clear: after the Washington meeting, no shot was fired at the border with Armenia-Azerbaijan.

Trump’s intervention has led to at least temporary relief for those who have lived in fear of renewed battles for years.