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YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Vice President JD Vance made history on Monday by becoming the first sitting U.S. vice president to visit Armenia. His visit is part of the Trump administration’s efforts to support a U.S.-facilitated agreement aimed at resolving a longstanding conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Upon arrival, Vice President Vance and his wife, Usha, received a formal welcome complete with a red carpet, an honor guard, and a group of officials. As they proceeded to their meeting, Armenian and American flags lined the route, while a few protesters, one holding a sign questioning, “Does Trump support Devils?” stood by.
During his visit, Vance is scheduled to meet with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. In August, Pashinyan participated in a White House meeting where a significant agreement was signed to reopen essential transportation links with Azerbaijan. Although the foreign ministers have given preliminary approval by initialing the peace treaty, it remains unsigned by the leaders and unratified by their parliaments.
Vance’s journey to Yerevan follows a four-day stay in Milan, where he attended the Winter Olympics with his family. He is set to continue his trip by visiting Azerbaijan on Tuesday.
Both Prime Minister Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev have joined President Donald Trump’s newly established Board of Peace. Initially created to manage the Gaza ceasefire, the board has broadened its scope. Trump is planning to hold the board’s inaugural meeting in Washington later this month.
The deal with the two former Soviet republics calls for the creation of a major transit corridor dubbed the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity. It is expected to connect Azerbaijan and its autonomous Nakhchivan exclave, which are separated by a 32-kilometer-wide (20-mile-wide) patch of Armenian territory.
The land bridge had been a sticking point in resolving a conflict that lasted for nearly four decades over control of the Karabakh region, known internationally as Nagorno-Karabakh. The region had been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since 1994. A six-week war in 2020 resulted in Azerbaijan regaining control of parts of the region and the surrounding areas. In September 2023, Azerbaijan launched a blitz that forced the separatist authorities to capitulate. After Azerbaijan regained full control of Karabakh, most of its 120,000 Armenian residents fled to Armenia.
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