Armenia rejects US claims on 99-year lease as ‘far from reality’

Tehran - BORNA - Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, in an interview with state television, responded to Trump’s remarks made during an August 8 press conference in Washington, where the US president suggested that the United States would lease a road in Armenia for 99 years to benefit American companies.

“The land in question belongs to Armenia, and talk of 99 years has no relation to reality. Ownership of the land is not up for discussion,” Mirzoyan said, referring to the southern Syunik province. He explained that infrastructure projects passing through Armenian territory — including routes used by Azerbaijani trains — would remain under Armenian ownership.

According to Armenia-based news outlet News.am, Mirzoyan underlined that claims about long-term foreign leases “bear no connection to reality.”

The remarks come after Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a US-brokered peace agreement at the White House in August, in the presence of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. The deal, described by Trump as the “Trump Path for Peace and International Prosperity,” grants Azerbaijan direct access to its exclave of Nakhchivan while establishing a new transit corridor across Armenian territory.

During the signing, Trump said the agreement created a special transit zone that could involve “exclusive cooperation” with the United States for up to 99 years.

Iran has consistently opposed the creation of such a corridor — often referred to as the “Zangezur corridor” — warning that it undermines the territorial integrity of regional countries and could disrupt existing routes.

Pashinyan, however, emphasized after the signing that the project would also allow Armenia to establish a railway connection with Iran, calling it a development of significant importance.

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