Yerevan (AFP) - US Vice President Jay D. Vance will visit Armenia on Monday before moving on Tuesday to Azerbaijan, as Washington seeks to strengthen the peace agreement signed under its auspices between the two countries in the South Caucasus, and advance its project to develop infrastructure in the region.

Published on: 02/09/2026 - 16:55 Last updated: 02/09/2026 - 18:50

This is the first visit by a senior American official to Armenia, a country traditionally close to Russia, noting that Moscow's influence in the region has declined since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The US Vice President met on Monday in Yerevan with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and will move to Baku on Tuesday.

Last August, Armenia and Azerbaijan signed an agreement in Washington sponsored by President Donald Trump to end a decades-old territorial dispute between them.

This conflict is related in particular to the mountainous region of Karabakh, which was the cause of two wars: the first after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the second in 2020. Azerbaijan was eventually able to control it following a surprise attack in 2023.

“We are not only making peace for Armenia, but we are also creating real prosperity for Armenia and the United States together,” Vance said in a press conference alongside Pashinyan.

He announced the sale of American drone technology to Armenia worth $11 million.

For his part, Pashinyan described the visit as “historic in the true sense of the word,” adding that he “strongly hopes” that President Donald Trump will “rightfully” receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his mediation in the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace process.

The two parties also signed an agreement on civil nuclear energy, which Pashinyan said would “open a new chapter in deepening the energy partnership between Armenia and the United States.”

Regional communication

The US State Department previously reported that this visit would allow “progress to be made in the peace efforts made by President Donald Trump and strengthen Trump’s path to international peace and prosperity,” in reference to the transit corridor project.

The “Trump Path to International Peace and Prosperity” project is a proposed road and railway corridor, designed to connect Azerbaijan to the Nakhchivan enclave, which is separated by the territory of Armenia from the mainland, while integrating the region into a broader trade route extending from east to west linking Central Asia and the Caspian Basin with Europe.

Washington views the project as aiming to build relations of trust after decades of tension between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The project fulfills an old demand of Baku, which wants to open regional communication routes, noting that it made this a condition for signing a comprehensive peace agreement with Yerevan.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan announced in January the development of an executive framework for the corridor project.

This framework gives priority to sovereignty, territorial integrity and the principle of reciprocity, with the promise of economic gains for Armenia and Azerbaijan through expanded trade and transit.

The Americans also stressed that the project would strengthen regional ties and American interests by opening new supply routes that do not pass through Russia and Iran.

The US Vice President's visit comes at a time when Washington seeks to strengthen its diplomatic and economic presence in the South Caucasus.

Twenty Armenian human rights groups urged Guy de Vance, in an open letter, to demand the release of Armenians detained in Baku prisons.

A number of refugees from Karabakh also organized a gathering near the meeting headquarters in Yerevan on Monday evening for the same reason.

Last week, a military court in Baku issued sentences of up to life imprisonment against Armenian separatists from Karabakh, after convicting them of waging an "aggressive war."

Russia's influence in the South Caucasus has declined since its large-scale attack on Ukraine on February 24, 2022, which displeased many of its old partners.

In this context, Armenia suspended its participation in a regional security agreement, and accuses Moscow of not standing by its side in the face of Baku.

Vance's tour does not include Georgia, which was a major ally of Washington in the region. Relations between the two countries deteriorated after Washington denounced Tbilisi's authoritarian drift and its closeness to Moscow, which prompted the United States to suspend its strategic partnership with the former ally.

© 2026 AFP

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