Abstract. This article analyzes the new US mediation initiative, the “Trump Route”, as an attempt to find an innovative approach to resolving one of the most complex issues in normalizing Armenian-Azerbaijani relations – the unblocking of transport links in the South Caucasus. It examines the historical context of the fragmentation and restructuring of the region’s transport links under the influence of the protracted conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh since the early 1990s and analyzes the transformation of the regional balance of power following the Karabakh wars of 2020-2023. Particular attention is paid to the contradictions in the positions of the parties regarding the concept of the “Zangezur Corridor”, as well as the geopolitical interests of major regional actors. The infrastructural, economic, and geopolitical factors determining the prospects for the new project’s implementation are examined. It concludes that the success of the initiative depends on the ability to maintain a delicate balance of interests among all participants, which is an extremely difficult task in the context of intense geopolitical and economic competition in the region.