RFE/RL – Trump Endorses Pashinian For Reelection

“Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, of Armenia, a great friend and Leader, is making his Country strong, wealthy, and very secure! Nikol completely shares my vision of PEACE and PROSPERITY for Armenia and the entire South Caucasus region,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.

He pointed out that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan initialed on Tuesday a fresh U.S.-Armenian agreement on practical modalities of the planned Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP).

“Soon, the United States and Armenia will break ground together on the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, which will transform the South Caucasus, and help our wonderful American Energy Companies gain access from Central Asia all the way to the United States. For these reasons, Nikol has my COMPLETE and TOTAL Endorsement for Re-Election on June 7, 2026,” he wrote.

Pashinian was quick to thank Trump for his “high appraisal and friendly words.”

U.S. Vice President JD Vance likewise endorsed the Armenian premier when he visited Yerevan in February. Vance said Pashinian’s reelection is essential for the implementation of a U.S.-Armenian agreement on the TRIPP reached during an Armenian-Azerbaijani summit hosted by Trump last August.

Rubio mentioned his short trip to Yerevan and the initialing of the follow-up deal on the TRIPP during a cabinet meeting at the White House on Wednesday.

“We are seeing the emergence of a great new relationship with Armenia that really had grown stagnant for a long period of time,” he said.

Although Rubio stopped short of explicitly endorsing Pashinian, his hour-long stay in the Armenian capital was construed by local commentators as a show of pre-election support for Armenia’s current leadership. Former President Robert Kocharian, who leads one of the three main opposition groups running in the elections, accused Washington of meddling in the race.

“I don’t think that the United States has significant interests in Armenia,” claimed Kocharian. “Their only interest is to take control of our border with Iran and to hurt Russia, to do everything to ensure that Russia is replaced in this region by Turkey.”

For his part, Pashinian has repeatedly branded his election challengers as Russian “agents” and “spies” on the campaign trail. Moscow has not openly voiced support for any of them, despite ratcheting up pressure on Yerevan over its pro-Western foreign policy.

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