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U.S. President Donald Trump endorsed Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for re-election hours after Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed a strategic partnership agreement in Yerevan anchored by a major transit corridor deal; ahead of parliamentary elections, polls show it an exceedingly tight race.
Trump posted his endorsement on Truth Social, describing Pashinyan as "a great friend and Leader" and pledging the two countries would soon break ground on the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, known as TRIPP, a transit corridor linking Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan exclave through southern Armenia.
"Nikol has my COMPLETE and TOTAL Endorsement for Re-Election on June 7, 2026," Trump wrote.
The TRIPP corridor was agreed upon under a joint declaration signed at the White House at an August summit by Pashinyan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Trump.
Under a framework announced in January, a U.S.-backed TRIPP Development Company would oversee rail, road, energy and digital infrastructure along the corridor for an initial 49-year term, with the U.S. holding a 74% stake.
Armenia retains full sovereignty over all project areas throughout, according to the framework.
Rubio signed the TRIPP strategic cooperation framework agreement and a memorandum of understanding on critical minerals with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan at Yerevan airport on Tuesday, during a stop on his return from a four-day trip to Sweden and India.
"This agreement marks the biggest step to date on making this historic route a reality, on advancing peace and on increasing prosperity, in Armenia, and, frankly, on the region," Rubio said at the signing ceremony.
"Our relationship is not simply limited to TRIPP. We are building upon that in so many different ways, and it's a top priority of this administration," he added.
Rubio told Mirzoyan at the meeting: "I must say that you, the Prime Minister and your entire team in Armenia, you are really paving the way to a brighter and more independent future for Armenia."
Reporting on the deals at a White House Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Rubio said, "We signed a critical minerals agreement with Armenia, a reminder of another war President Trump helped settle. We are seeing the emergence of a great new relationship with Armenia that really had grown stagnant for a long period of time."
Armenians vote on June 7 in the country's first parliamentary elections since 2021, seen as a key test of Pashinyan's moves to reduce Armenia's dependence on Moscow while forging closer ties with the West.
Trump's endorsement copied his favored formulation for domestic political endorsements and closed with a phrase echoing his campaign slogan: "Make (Armenia) Great Again, MAGA!"
Pashinyan thanked Trump on X: "Thank you, President @realDonaldTrump for the high appreciation and friendly words."
Trump wrote that Rubio had "advanced several important Deals for both our Countries" during the Yerevan visit and said the corridor would "help our wonderful American Energy Companies gain access from Central Asia all the way to the United States."
"With Nikol's help, we will bring the United States, Armenia, the South Caucasus, and Central Asia to greater heights than ever before," Trump wrote.
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