Trump Endorses Armenian PM Pashinyan in Upcoming Parliamentary Elections

On Wednesday, former U.S. President Donald Trump declared his backing for Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in the legislative elections scheduled for June 7, which polls suggest will be highly competitive.

The upcoming elections are viewed as a referendum on Pashinyan's policies, which distance Armenia from Moscow and aim to strengthen ties with Western countries, according to Agence France-Presse.

Armenia, located in the South Caucasus, continues to grapple with the consequences of Azerbaijan's military takeover of the Nagorno-Karabakh region in 2023, which caused the mass displacement of approximately 100,000 ethnic Armenians.

As part of a peace agreement brokered by the United States, Armenia consented to the establishment of a corridor through its territory connecting Azerbaijan to its exclave, Nakhchivan. This corridor has been named the "Trump International Peace and Prosperity Road" (TRIP).

The initiative envisions integrating the corridor into a broader trade route stretching from east to west, linking Central Asia and the Caspian basin with Europe.

Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social that "soon, America and Armenia will begin collaborating" on the TRIP project.

He added that the project "will transform the South Caucasus region and assist our great American energy companies in reaching from Central Asia all the way to America."

Trump described Pashinyan as "a friend and a great leader" who is working to "make his country very strong, wealthy, and secure," further stating, "Nikol fully shares my vision for peace and prosperity for Armenia and the entire South Caucasus region."

He emphasized that "for these reasons, Nikol has my full and unconditional support for his re-election on June 7, 2026."

This endorsement came a day after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Armenia while returning from a multi-day tour in India.

In his Wednesday post, Trump noted that Rubio "has made progress in concluding many important agreements for both countries."