As the UTC leaders' dinner got under way in Ankara, Donald Trump called Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Officially, everything looks impeccable and protocol: congratulations on Republic Day, best wishes for a successful summit. Moreover, this was already the second conversation between the two presidents within a day - but what close ties. But US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barak, who commented on the call, related it to "strengthening regional cooperation" and emphasized the geopolitical position of the Turkish states as a bridge between the Caspian Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, Europe and Asia. Behind all these piles of words one thing is hidden - the American TRIPP project. According to Washington's logic, this is to make the TRIPP an non-alternative path, to dislodge Iran from it, through which three branches of the Middle Corridor currently pass, and to weaken the dependence on the Russian northern route. And this requires coordination with Ankara, a key player in the west of the route. Therefore, even if the United States is not physically present at the summit, it exists invisibly and almost sets the music.