U.S. Vice President JD Vance landed at the Azerbaijan capital of Baku on Tuesday, February 10 as part of a visit to Armenia and Azerbaijan aimed at advancing a new trade corridor linking the two countries after decades of conflict.
Vance landed in Yerevan, Armenia, on Monday, becoming the first sitting U.S. Vice President to visit the country, before travelling to neighbouring Azerbaijan the following day.
The visit follows the initialling of a peace deal between the two South Caucasus nations last summer, a major step towards normalising relations for the first time in almost 40 years.
In August 2025, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met at the White House, where President Donald Trump brokered the agreement and announced plans for a strategic trade route through the region.
The proposed Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) will connect Azerbaijan and Turkey via southern Armenia and the Azerbaijani enclave of Nakhchivan in the country’s western border.
Stretching 43 kilometers, the trade route is designed to provide a strategically significant “middle corridor” for trade between Europe and Asia, bypassing both Russia and Iran.
Vance’s visit to the region is intended to advance the route, following the release of a TRIPP implementation framework last month.
A final accord will be signed at a later date but the document outlined plans to develop rail, road, energy and digital infrastructure. The U.S. will serve as the project’s main financial backer, and the development will be overseen by a new American-Armenian company.
After concluding bilateral talks with Vance, Pashinyan described the visit as a “crucial step in institutionalising peace” and celebrated the “truly historic and symbolic importance” of the moment.
“We’re not just making peace for Armenia,” Vance said. “We’re also creating real prosperity for Armenia and the United States together.”
Whilst in Yerevan, Vance and Pashinyan also signed a peaceful nuclear energy cooperation agreement, which will allow the U.S. to license related technology and equipment to Armenia.
Armenia has sought to increase ties with the US and EU, signalling a shift away from Russia’s sphere of influence, including efforts to reduce its energy dependence.
Relations between Yerevan and Moscow have deteriorated since Armenia’s defeat in the 2023 Nargono-Karabakh war that saw the displacement of the Armenian population from the territory.
Featured image: JD Vance via X.
