
ArmInfo.Washington is seeking to secure a position on the international Europe-Caucasus-Asia route through TRIPP, assuming the role of a major Eurasian player. This is what political scientist Vahe Davtyan writes in his article.
According to him, a new logistics megaproject is being developed, the goal of which is to diversify connections between Central Asia and Europe, but under the exclusive control of American capital. The political scientist notes that approximately a week before US Vice President J.D. Vance's visit to Yerevan, representatives of the American engineering consulting company AECOM (Dallas, Texas) arrived in Armenia to begin surveying the TRIPP site. A few days ago, Black Rock, a major American investment company, acquired a stake in a container terminal in Turkey owned by the Azerbaijani company SOCAR. According to the agreement, the terminal will be jointly managed by SOCAR Turkey Enerji A.S. and Black Rock's subsidiary, Terminal Investment Switzerland Sarl (TISS). The terminal in question, located on the Aegean coast, is the third largest in Turkey in terms of cargo volume and, most importantly, provides a stable outlet to the Mediterranean Sea.
"Now let's get back to AECOM, which has reappeared in Armenia. A search on the NASDAQ stock exchange website shows that in February 2023, the aforementioned Black Rock (12%) became an institutional shareholder in the company. According to some open American sources, Black Rock is also indirectly represented in AECOM through a number of subsidiaries. What does this mean? Black Rock is not just a business entity, but a player directly linked to the US government and, in general, to the "deep state". Although it is considered a passive investor, it has voting rights at general meetings of shareholders and participates in the appointment of senior management of companies. Black Rock owns more than 5% of the nominal shareholdings in about half of the 3,900 American public companies. It is also a major shareholder of competing companies - the "Big Four" American banks. In fact, Washington, as I have repeatedly noted, is seeking to take a position on the international route Europe-Caucasus-Asia through TRIP, assuming the role of an important Eurasian player. A new logistics megaproject is being formed, the purpose of which is "Diversification of connections between Central Asia and Europe, but exclusively under the control of American capital. TRIPP and the terminal acquired in Turkey are important hubs in this logistics," noted Vahe Davtyan, adding that this is one of those cases where the state's geopolitical interests completely coincide with those of large capital.
On January 20, a memorandum of understanding was signed in Davos between the State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ), BlackRock, and its subsidiary Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP). For Azerbaijan, this represents an opportunity to modernize its infrastructure, develop technological developments, and attract international capital. For BlackRock and GIP, this represents an opportunity to expand their presence in international markets, strengthen their business reputation, and participate in major investment projects jointly with government agencies. Experts believe that the right to construct and subsequently operate TRIPP will be transferred to BlackRock, thereby placing the corridor through Armenia, albeit indirectly, under Azerbaijani control.
BlackRock is one of the world's largest asset managers, with over $9 trillion in assets under management. The company operates in investment, fund management, and risk management, offering institutional and private clients solutions for capital diversification, long-term investing, and sustainable development. BlackRock is actively involved in global financial markets, implements infrastructure and technology projects, and is a leading player in ESG investing.
GIP, a BlackRock subsidiary, specializes in infrastructure fund management and investments in transportation, energy, utilities, and technology infrastructure. The company's projects include airports, seaports, power generation facilities, and data centers.
On August 8, 2025, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a seven-point joint "Declaration of Peace" in Washington. It provides for a joint appeal to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to terminate the OSCE Minsk Process and related structures, as well as the creation of a transport corridor through Armenian territory that will connect Azerbaijan with its Nakhichevan exclave, surrounded by Armenia, Turkey, and Iran.