Armenia signs strategic partnership deal with US as election approaches
Summary
Armenia and the United States signed a strategic partnership agreement to strengthen their relationship ahead of Armenia’s June election. The deal includes cooperation on critical minerals and a transit corridor connecting Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan exclave through southern Armenia to Turkey.Key Facts
- Armenia signed a partnership deal with the U.S. as Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan faces pro-Russia opponents before the June election.
- U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan signed agreements on critical minerals and a new transit corridor.
- The corridor is called the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) and will link Azerbaijan’s exclave Nakhchivan to Turkey through Armenia.
- This corridor is part of a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan from August 2023.
- The U.S. will hold a 74% stake in the company developing the corridor, aiming to benefit American companies and Armenian prosperity.
- Armenia has been moving closer to the West after the 2023 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, causing tension with Russia.
- Russia warned it might increase gas prices for Armenia because of this Western alignment.
- Last year, the U.S. and Armenia held their first joint military drills.
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