On May 26, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio made a short visit to Armenia en route from India. The US Secretary of State's plane stayed at Yerevan's Zvartnots Airport for about an hour, but during this time, the two sides signed a package of documents that Yerevan is already calling historic.
Rubio was personally met at the airport by Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan. The talks culminated in the signing of a charter on a comprehensive strategic partnership between Armenia and the United States, as well as two framework agreements: one on cooperation in critical minerals and rare earth metals, and the other on the implementation of the TRIPP project, known as the "Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity."
This refers to a transport corridor that is intended to connect the mainland of Azerbaijan with Nakhchivan via Armenia's Syunik Province. The project involves the creation of road, rail, and oil and gas infrastructure, and the United States intends to participate not only in construction but also in the management of the future route.
During the signing ceremony, Mirzoyan stated that relations between the two countries had reached an "unprecedented level." He added that the agreements reached would open up new opportunities for Armenia.
"It would not be an exaggeration to say that the parties have entered a historically unprecedented stage, given the ongoing bilateral development processes," the minister stated.
Rubio, in turn, called the TRIPP agreement "one of the key steps toward the implementation of a historic project" and linked it to prospects for peace and economic development in the region.
The "Trump Route" project itself emerged after the signing of the peace agreement on August 8, 2025, between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, brokered by Donald Trump. The document enshrined the commitment to create a transit corridor through Armenian territory. Later, Reuters, citing sources, reported that the agreement grants the United States exclusive rights to develop strategic infrastructure in this section of the South Caucasus.
In Washington and Yerevan, the project is being presented as an economic opportunity for the region. Pashinyan previously stated that the new route would create infrastructure capable of bringing long-term benefits to all participants, including the United States. However, within Armenia, heated debates over TRIPP continue. The opposition and some public figures fear that, under the guise of international partnership, the country is effectively handing over control of part of its territory to foreign entities, despite official guarantees of preserving Armenian sovereignty.
Preparations for construction have already begun. In May, the American engineering and consulting firm AECOM began surveying the area for the future infrastructure. The work is being coordinated by the US State Department's Global Infrastructure and Investment Partnership Fund.
Rubio's visit comes amid a sharp escalation of domestic political tensions in Armenia ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for June 7. Pashinyan's team and opposition forces are accusing each other of treason, security forces are opening new criminal cases, and Armenian media are publishing investigations into the alleged ties of several politicians to Russian intelligence services.
One of the main issues of the campaign remains the fate of the pro-Russian candidates. Yerevan is debating whether they will be allowed to participate in the elections or whether some politicians will be disqualified, following a scenario previously used in Moldova.
