Vice President Of The United States Deepens U.S. Role in the South Caucasus
The vice president of the united states visited Armenia and Azerbaijan from Feb. 9–11, pressing a package of nuclear energy, artificial intelligence and connectivity projects that officials framed as a long-term expansion of engagement in the South Caucasus at a sensitive political moment.
Vice President Of The United States makes high-stakes visits to Yerevan and Baku
The trip—described by officials as the most consequential U. S. engagement in the region since a Washington summit in August 2025—included meetings in Yerevan and Baku. It marked the first visit by a sitting U. S. vice president to Armenia and the second to Azerbaijan, following a 2008 visit to Baku by a former vice president. The delegation’s agenda centered on nuclear energy cooperation, artificial intelligence, and connectivity infrastructure.
In Yerevan, the vice president of the united states offered an explicit nod to Armenian politics, saying, “I know [Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan] has an election coming up … to the extent my endorsement means anything, he certainly has it. ” The visit came six months after both countries’ foreign ministers initialed a draft Armenia–Azerbaijan peace deal at the White House in August 2025, and three months before Armenia’s scheduled June 2026 parliamentary elections.
A focus on nuclear energy and the TRIPP route
The most structurally significant outcome in Yerevan was the completion of negotiations on a bilateral agreement on nuclear energy cooperation. The vice president said the framework could pave the way for $5 billion in U. S. exports, plus an additional $4 billion in support through fuel and maintenance contracts. Separately, development of the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), also known as the Zangezur Corridor, was a priority: the United States plans to lease the 27. 3-mile route for up to 99 years with exclusive development rights.
Officials framed the TRIPP route as a transformation of a former subject of conflict into a commercial corridor linking mainland Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave through Armenian territory. The package combined immediate diplomatic signaling with technical and economic commitments intended to embed long-term cooperation.
Timing, reception and immediate consequences
The visit’s timing—Feb. 9–11 and ahead of Armenia’s June 2026 vote—underscored its political texture. The vice president’s public endorsement of Armenia’s prime minister was notable for its directness and was intended by visiting officials as a signal that continuity in Yerevan could help sustain the fragile peace process with Azerbaijan. The nuclear agreement and the TRIPP lease are concrete elements that lock both countries into prolonged economic and technical relationships with U. S. firms and institutions.
Local reaction included confusion around one figure: Armenian media initially described $5 billion as investment, while the vice president described the amount as U. S. exports tied to nuclear technology and services. The two descriptions reflect different legal and financial frames for the same set of commitments—export contracts, fuel and maintenance arrangements—rather than a fundamentally different scale of engagement.
The next clear milestone is Armenia’s parliamentary election in June 2026. Officials have completed the bilateral nuclear energy talks and outlined the TRIPP lease terms; what follows are implementation steps tied to export contracts, fuel and maintenance arrangements, and the longer-term development of the 27. 3-mile corridor under the planned lease terms.
