The Office of the U.S. Director of National Intelligence has released the 2026 Annual Threat Assessment report of the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC), which, among others, also touches upon the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process.

“The U.S.-sponsored Peace Summit on 8 August between Armenia and Azerbaijan has created an opportunity for the two countries to establish a lasting peace deal and contributed to increasing regional stability,” the report says. “The results of the Peace Summit included a provisional agreement on the terms of a peace treaty and plans to establish the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” (TRIPP), managed by the U.S., that will connect Azerbaijan to its exclave of Naxcivan across southern Armenia, unlocking trade flows for both nations and the region.”

The report highlights that these developments represent a significant change in direction for Armenian–Azerbaijani relations.

“In 2020 and 2023, Azerbaijan militarily retook control of its Nagorno-Karabakh region from an ethnic Armenian population supported by Yerevan.  Since 8 August, both sides have appeared willing to maintain the momentum from the Peace Summit. Border ceasefire violations between Armenia and Azerbaijan have plummeted and now are almost nonexistent. In October 2025, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev announced that Azerbaijan had lifted restrictions on cargo transit through Azerbaijan to Armenia, a move that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan reciprocated within days. Since then, Azerbaijan has shipped gasoline and permitted transshipments of wheat to Armenia. There are still hurdles to the final conclusion of a peace deal. For example, President Aliyev continues to insist that Armenia change its constitution to remove a reference that he characterizes as claiming Nagorno-Karabakh is part of Armenia, a step which would require Armenia to hold a constitutional referendum whose passage is not guaranteed,” the 2026 Annual Threat Assessment report of the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) says.

The report further touches upon Armenia in a section about regional developments in the post-Soviet space.

“Ongoing U.S. engagement to resolve regional conflicts, such as between Armenia and Azerbaijan, can improve U.S. access to the region and facilitate strategic investments and commercial opportunities,” it says.

The Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) is a connectivity project in Armenia, envisaged under the U.S.-brokered Armenian-Azerbaijani joint declaration signed in Washington, D.C. The project is expected to unlock strategic economic opportunities, create long-term benefits by promoting infrastructure investment, and enhance regional connectivity. TRIPP is part of the Crossroads of Peace project, and an Armenian-American joint enterprise is expected to develop the route.

Ambassador of Armenia to the United States, Narek Mkrtchyan, held a meeting with U.S. Congressman Seth Magaziner.

The Ambassador briefed the Congressman on recent developments in Armenia–U.S. bilateral relations, according to the embassy’s readout. The ambassador and the congressman discussed a number of issues of mutual interest and also touched upon opportunities to further strengthen cooperation between the two countries.

Both sides emphasized the importance of enhancing cooperation between the legislative bodies of Armenia and the United States.

The newly appointed Ambassador of Laos to Armenia, Siphandone Oybouabouddy, has presented his credentials to President Vahagn Khachaturyan.

Vahagn Khachaturyan congratulated the ambassador on assuming office and wished him success in his work toward developing relations between the two countries, the President’s Office said in a press release.

The President expressed hope that cooperation between Armenia and Laos will further expand, encompassing various areas of mutual interest. Ambassador Oybouabouddy thanked him for the reception and noted that, through his work, he would make every effort to strengthen and develop bilateral relations.

During the meeting, the parties discussed opportunities to expand cooperation in the political, economic, educational, and high-tech sectors.

They emphasized the importance of advancing parliamentary diplomacy, considering it a key component of bilateral relations.

The role of official mutual visits was also highlighted as an effective means of strengthening cooperation and exploring new directions.

The parties noted that close cooperation on international platforms could have a positive impact by promoting shared agendas.

The conversation also touched upon COP17—the upcoming 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, to be held in Armenia this year—as well as the Yerevan Dialogue international forum, underscoring their importance as platforms for deepening cooperation and strengthening relations.

The European Union will provide an additional €140 million in financial support to Armenia to promote reforms and deepen bilateral cooperation, EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said in Yerevan during a joint press conference with Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan.

Marta Kos noted that Armenia is a reliable partner for the European Union in the South Caucasus, emphasizing the region’s growing significance amid global geopolitical tensions.

“This is an important year for Armenia. In May, Armenia will host the European Political Community Summit, followed by the first-ever EU-Armenia Summit. This demonstrates how much the importance of this region has increased for Europe and how deeply our partnership has developed,” she said.

According to the Commissioner, in recent years there has been significant growth in freight transport passing through the South Caucasus, which has quadrupled since 2022.

She noted that, thanks to infrastructure investments, it is possible to increase these figures even further by reducing transport times and costs.

Kos also emphasized that EU support is not limited to economic cooperation—it is also seen as a tool for promoting peace.

She welcomed the steps taken by Armenia and Azerbaijan toward peace, highlighting the importance of developing regional connectivity.

According to the Commissioner, under the “Resilience and Growth” program, the EU has already supported around 7,000 enterprises and contributed to the creation of more than 20,000 jobs.

“Projects are also being implemented in the fields of education, social services, and housing, and support is being provided for the integration of persons displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh, amounting to over €70 million,” Kos emphasized.

According to Marta Kos, the new €140 million in support is also aimed at reforms necessary to advance the visa liberalization process.

“These funds will contribute to the reforms needed to make progress in the visa liberalization process,” she said.

Kos also addressed democratic processes, emphasizing that the EU is ready to support Armenia in countering hybrid threats and disinformation, ensuring the conduct of free and fair elections.

Armenia and the European Union have signed a financing agreement for 2025–2027 under the “Resilience and Growth” plan, Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan said during joint statements with EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos.

Grigoryan said the agreement reflects the deepening of Armenia–EU cooperation in reforms, economic development and regional connectivity.

He noted that Kos’s second visit to Armenia within six months demonstrates the active development of bilateral ties and expanding partnership between the sides.

According to Grigoryan, the visit comes ahead of the European Political Community summit and an Armenia–EU summit to be held in Yerevan.

The parties discussed progress on reforms implemented under the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

Grigoryan said the sides have set ambitious goals in key areas, including export diversification, visa liberalisation and public finance management.

He also stressed the importance of regional connectivity, noting that the sides agreed to continue cooperation within Armenia’s “Crossroads of Peace” project, the TRIPP route, and the EU’s Global Gateway strategy.

Grigoryan added that the EU reaffirmed its support for Armenia’s involvement in the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR).

He expressed gratitude to the EU leadership for its support in strengthening democratic resilience in Armenia ahead of upcoming parliamentary elections.

EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos has stated that, amid the crisis in the Middle East, relations with the Republic of Armenia and efforts to achieve peace in the South Caucasus have become even more important.

Kos said this in a post on X, referring to her meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on March 19.

“Armenia and the EU have never been closer.At a time of crisis in the Middle East, our relationship and the work towards peace in the South Caucasus have become even more important for trade and energy links to Asia,” reads the post.

Kos also stated that during the meeting with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, they discussed ways to better connect the region, promote prosperity, and ensure lasting peace.

Veronika Zonabend, the wife of former Nagorno-Karabakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan, who was convicted on false charges in Azerbaijan, has sent a letter to ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger requesting clarification of the legal status of Armenian prisoners held in Baku.

In particular, Zonabend asked the ICRC president to clarify the specific legal basis under which ICRC delegates most recently visited the Armenian prisoners.

The Ruben Vardanyan Foundation has made Zonabend’s letter public.

The full text of the letter is presented below:

“Dear President Spoljaric,

I am writing to you on behalf of my husband, Ruben Vardanyan, an Armenian citizen, philanthropist, and former State Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh, who was illegally detained by the Azerbaijani authorities on 27 September 2023 while attempting to leave Nagorno-Karabakh for Armenia.

I would like to express my sincere appreciation for the work of the International Committee of the Red Cross. ICRC’s role and mandate are truly unique and unparalleled. In times of cruelty, war, and injustice, the ICRC remains a rare symbol of dignity, compassion, and humanity with the noble mission of protecting the vulnerable. The ICRC is one of the few international organizations in which team members have not lost their sense of mission and continue to approach their work with humanity and care. We deeply appreciate the ICRC delegates’ visits to Ruben at his place of detention in Azerbaijan. For our family, and I am sure for the families of other detained Armenians, your visits mean far more than a formal procedure.

I write with full understanding of the ICRC’s humanitarian mandate, as well as its long-established principles of confidentiality, impartiality, and neutrality. At the same time, for the families of individuals who remain unlawfully detained, it is of profound importance to receive an impartial and professionally grounded understanding of the detainees’ legal status in Azerbaijan at the time of the ICRC delegates’ visits.

This need for clarity is rendered all the more urgent in light of the manifestly deficient judicial proceedings in Azerbaijan, including trials that lack fundamental guarantees and charges that appear devoid of factual and legal basis. The suffering inflicted on the families of the detainees as a result of their unlawful detention and the conduct of proceedings that lack fundamental fairness is further aggravated by the dissemination of misleading information and the deliberate misrepresentation of the detainees’ status by the Azerbaijani authorities, who publicly and repeatedly label them as “terrorists.”

In this context, I respectfully ask for clarification of the specific legal status under which Ruben and other Armenian detainees were visited by ICRC delegates. In particular, we seek to understand whether they were considered by the ICRC as persons deprived of liberty in relation to an armed conflict, and as such whether they were prisoners of war, security detainees, internees, or have another status under applicable rules of international humanitarian law.

Such clarification would be of exceptional value. It would provide much-needed reassurance to families and contribute meaningfully to an objective understanding of how the detainees are regarded under international humanitarian law and the ICRC’s humanitarian visiting standards.

Allow me to conclude by expressing sincere gratitude for the humanity and dignity the ICRC brings to its work, qualities that remain indispensable in a world where they are too often in short supply.

Finally, I address you not only in your official capacity, but also with a deeply personal appeal to the organization whose mission has always been to place the protection of human life, dignity, and justice above formalities and political considerations. For families like ours, who are living through the anguish of prolonged and unlawful detention of our loved ones, this belief in the ICRC’s humanitarian conscience is a source of hope. I sincerely trust that this same spirit will guide your attention to the situation of Ruben and other Armenian detainees.

Yours sincerely,

Veronika Zonabend”

U.S. Chargé d’Affaires a.i. to Armenia David Allen made his first visit to Gyumri, connecting with the community and learning more about the city, the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan said in a statement.

“The visit ranged from a stop at the Shirak Regional Division of the MOIA’s Police Patrol Service, highlighting U.S. support for Armenia’s law enforcement reform efforts and the shared priority of building safer communities, to a visit to TUMO Gyumri, to learn about programs and activities that empower young people, and a warm meeting with U.S. government exchange program alumni who continue to make a difference locally and beyond,’’ reads the statement.

“The day concluded with the launch of the Founder’s Museum at the Gyumri American Corner as part of the #Freedom250 celebration – an exhibition open to the public offering an opportunity to learn about the origins of the United States and the enduring values of leadership, civic engagement, and freedom,’’ it reads.