Russian-American Heads Trump's Planned Caucasus Trade Route

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Until recently, few people in the South Caucasus had heard of Konstantin Sokolov. Now the 52-year-old Russian-American businessman is at the center of new investment fund backed by US President Donald Trump. In mid-July, Sokolov — who emigrated from Russia to the US at age 21 and later founded the investment firm IJS Investments in Chicago — was appointed to head a new investment fund of the US State Department.The TRIPP+ EnterpriseFund, registered in the US as the Trans-Caspian Enterprise Fund and launched with more than $200 million (about €172.5 million) in capital, is expected to invest in countries across the South Caucasus and Central Asia and help finance the large-scale TRIPP infrastructure project, also known as the "Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity."The "Trump Route" is a transit corridor that aims to connect Azerbaijan with its autonomous exclave of Nakhchivan through Armenian territory.