Vice President JD Vance arrived in Armenia, marking the first visit by a sitting U.S. president or vice president. The trip aims to advance a U.S.-brokered peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Vance is meeting Armenian leaders before traveling to Azerbaijan later this week.
JD Vance Armenia Visit Quick Looks
- JD Vance becomes first sitting U.S. VP to visit Armenia
- Trip focuses on advancing Armenia-Azerbaijan peace deal
- Vance meets Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan
- Deal seeks to reopen regional transit routes
- Proposed corridor dubbed “Trump Route for Peace and Prosperity”
- Armenia-Azerbaijan treaty text initialed but not finalized
- Conflict centers on Nagorno-Karabakh region
- Vance to travel next to Azerbaijan
- Trump administration expands diplomatic role in South Caucasus
Deep Look
YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — JD Vance arrived in Armenia on Monday, marking a historic diplomatic milestone as the first sitting U.S. vice president — or president — to visit the South Caucasus nation. The visit underscores the Donald Trump administration’s push to broker a lasting peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan after decades of conflict.
Vance and his wife, Usha Vance, were welcomed with full ceremonial honors, including a red carpet, honor guard, and an official motorcade through Yerevan. Armenian and American flags lined the streets as the delegation traveled to meetings, though a small group of demonstrators was visible along the route.
High-Stakes Talks in Yerevan
The vice president is meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who signed a White House-brokered framework agreement last August aimed at reopening key transportation routes between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The agreement reaffirmed both countries’ commitment to signing a comprehensive peace treaty, though the document has so far only been initialed by foreign ministers and still requires formal signatures and parliamentary ratification.
Vance’s visit follows four days spent in Milan attending the Winter Olympics with his family. He is scheduled to travel to Azerbaijan on Tuesday to continue regional diplomacy.
Trump Board of Peace and Regional Strategy
Both Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev serve on Trump’s newly formed Board of Peace, a body initially designed to oversee the Gaza ceasefire but since expanded to address broader international conflicts. Trump is expected to convene the board’s first meeting in Washington later this month.
At the heart of the Armenia-Azerbaijan negotiations is a proposed transit corridor dubbed the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity. The corridor would connect Azerbaijan to its autonomous Nakhchivan exclave, crossing a narrow stretch of Armenian territory — a long-standing source of tension between the two former Soviet republics.
A Conflict Decades in the Making
The dispute traces back nearly four decades to the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh, internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but long controlled by ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia. After a brief but decisive war in 2020, Azerbaijan regained significant territory. In September 2023, Azerbaijani forces launched a rapid offensive that ended separatist control, prompting the flight of roughly 120,000 ethnic Armenians into Armenia.
What Comes Next
Vance’s visit signals renewed U.S. engagement in one of the world’s most fragile regions. While the proposed peace deal remains incomplete, American officials see the reopening of transportation routes and formal diplomatic recognition as critical steps toward stabilizing the South Caucasus.
Whether the treaty can be finalized — and whether regional mistrust can be overcome — may depend on the momentum generated during this rare and symbolic U.S. visit.
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