The US Vice President JD Vance has made history by becoming the first sitting US Vice President to visit Armenia. This visit is significant as it comes at a time when the Trump administration is working towards a US-brokered deal to end a decades-long conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The visit also coincides with Vance's attendance at the Winter Olympics in Milan, where he spent four days with his family before heading to Armenia.
Vance was greeted with a red carpet, an honor guard, and a delegation of officials upon his arrival in Yerevan. The delegation was accompanied by Armenian and American flags, and some demonstrators were seen on the side of the road holding signs with controversial messages. Vance met with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who signed a deal at the White House in August aimed at reopening key transportation routes with Azerbaijan. The deal also includes the creation of a major transit corridor, dubbed the 'Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity'.
The deal is significant as it aims to resolve a conflict that has lasted for nearly four decades over control of the Karabakh region, known internationally as Nagorno-Karabakh. The region had been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since 1994, but a six-week war in 2020 resulted in Azerbaijan regaining control of parts of the region and the surrounding areas. In September 2023, Azerbaijan launched a blitz that forced the separatist authorities to capitulate, and most of the 120,000 Armenian residents of Karabakh fled to Armenia.
The visit also highlights the involvement of President Donald Trump's Board of Peace, which includes Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. The board was originally envisioned to oversee the Gaza ceasefire plan, but has since expanded in size and ambition. Trump plans to convene the first meeting of the board in Washington this month.
While the deal has been signed and preliminary approval has been given, the leaders have yet to sign the treaty, and parliaments have yet to ratify it. The visit by Vance is a significant step towards resolving the conflict and achieving peace in the region. However, it also raises questions about the effectiveness of the deal and the role of the US in brokering peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The controversy surrounding the deal and the demonstration signs raise further questions about the public opinion and the challenges ahead for the peace process.
