American Vice President JD Vance visited Armenia on Monday to consolidate a peace agreement signed in August, under the aegis of Washington, with Azerbaijan and likely to transform trade routes in the strategic South Caucasus.

Published on: 02/09/2026 - 6:11 p.m. Modified on: 02/09/2026 - 6:41 p.m.

The American Vice President, JD Vance, arrived in Armenia on Monday February 9 before a visit to Azerbaijan on Tuesday, with Washington seeking to consolidate the peace agreement signed under its aegis between these two South Caucasian countries.

This is the first visit by such a senior American official to Armenia, a country traditionally close to Russia, while Moscow's influence in the region has weakened since the start of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022.

Armenia and Azerbaijan signed an agreement in Washington in August under the aegis of Donald Trump to end the territorial conflict that has pitted them against each other for decades.

This conflict notably concerned Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous enclave which was at the center of two wars, one at the fall of the USSR and the other in 2020. Azerbaijan finally took it back entirely from Armenian separatists after a lightning offensive in 2023.

On Monday, JD Vance met with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian before traveling to Baku, the Azerbaijani capital, on Tuesday.

He announced the sale of American drone technologies to Armenia for $11 million.

"We are not only working for peace in Armenia. We are also creating real prosperity for Armenia and the United States," he said at a joint press conference with Nikol Pashinian.

The “Trump Road”

Nikol Pashinian described this visit as “truly historic” and expressed his “great hope” that Donald Trump will receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his mediation in the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace process.

The two leaders also signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement.

The US State Department previously indicated that the visit would "promote the Trump Pathway to International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP)", referring to a proposed transit corridor.

Because the agreement signed in August in Washington between Yerevan and Baku provides for the creation of a transit zone passing through Armenia and linking Azerbaijan to its enclave of Nakhchivan further to the west, which would integrate the region into an east-west trade route connecting Central Asia and the Caspian Sea basin to Europe.

The project is promoted by Washington as a measure aimed at maintaining relations of trust after decades of conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

This corridor responds to a long-standing demand from Baku, which calls for the opening of regional communication routes as a condition for signing a comprehensive peace agreement with Yerevan.

The head of American diplomacy, Marco Rubio, and the Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ararat Mirzoïan, announced in January "an implementation framework" for the TRIPP project.

Bypass Russia and Iran

This document highlights sovereignty, territorial integrity and reciprocity, while promising economic gains for Armenia and Azerbaijan through an expansion of trade and transit.

U.S. officials also said the corridor would strengthen regional connections and U.S. interests by opening new supply routes that bypass Russia and Iran.

The US vice president's visit comes as Washington seeks to strengthen its diplomatic and economic presence in the South Caucasus.

Twenty Armenian human rights groups urged JD Vance, in an open letter, to call for the release of Armenians held in Baku prisons. Refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh have also planned a rally in Yerevan on Monday evening for the same reason.

See alsoNagorno-Karabakh: years of conflict punctuated by alleged war crimes

Last week, a military court in Baku handed down sentences of up to life in prison to Armenian separatists from Nagorno-Karabakh, found guilty in particular of waging a “war of aggression”.

Russia's influence in its post-Soviet region has weakened since Ukraine's large-scale offensive on February 24, 2022, which caused unease among many long-standing partners.

Armenia has suspended its participation in a regional security pact and criticizes Russia for not having come to its aid against Baku.

With AFP

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