Vance visits Armenia, Azerbaijan after Olympics to strengthen peace, partnerships

U.S. Vice President JD Vance visited Armenia and Azerbaijan this week to further secure a peace agreement between the two countries brokered by the U.S. after more than 35 years of conflict.

“Peace is not made by cautious people,” Vance said Monday during remarks in Armenia. “Peace is not made by people who are too focused on the past. Peace is made by people who are focused on the future.”

For the first time in decades, Armenia and Azerbaijan – Eurasian neighbors that fought many years over a shared mountainous region – reached a peace agreement after President Donald Trump organized the Washington Peace Summit in August 2025.

During his visit this week, Vance pledged America’s continued support and signed historic plans promising technological and military partnerships, as well as increased trade throughout the region.

“As President Trump knows very well, the very best way to ensure that you have peace is to establish real deterrence. And the best way to establish real deterrence is with the best military technology in the world, and the United States has that,” Vance said, promising to “make peace stick.”

Armenia

Among several plans, Vance announced the sale of $11 million in surveillance drone technology to Armenia, which will create more U.S. jobs and defense investments, he said. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan also pledged a “mutually beneficial partnership” for extracting critical minerals and rare earths.

“This agreement will open a new chapter in the deepening energy partnership between Armenia and the United States,” Pashinyan said. “It will contribute to the diversification of Armenia’s energy resources by implementing safe and innovative technologies. I also express my gratitude for the long-standing support provided to Armenia by the United States in the field of nuclear security and nuclear safety.”

Vance was the first vice president and highest-ranking U.S. official to ever visit the country, having arrived after attending the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy.

“[Armenia] is one of the oldest Christian countries in the entire world, of true bedrock of Christian civilization and culture. As a devout Christian myself, I know the meaning of this country to the entire world and to the religion that the Prime Minister and I share,” Vance said.

Vance and Pashinyan signed a civil nuclear agreement, which includes a nearly $5 billion pledge in U.S. exports and an additional $4 billion in fuel and maintenance contracts, according to the vice president. Vance also announced the sale of NVIDIA chips that power AI technology, which will help establish new data centers, markets and ultimately jobs for Americans. He said Armenia is “one of the few countries” American leaders are “confident enough to invest at this level.”

“This is the classic win-win for both Armenia and the United States of America,” Vance said. “It means stronger energy security for my own country, and it also, I think, means stronger energy security for Armenia. It’s also going to create a lot of new jobs back home in the United States.”

The ‘Trump Route’ and Azerbaijan

In addition to nuclear and technological security, Vance announced the launch of the TRIPP Enterprise Fund, which will open up “trade, transit and energy flows” to establish “unprecedented connections between Armenia and its neighbors.”

TRIPP stands for the new Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, announced last month, which connects the two regions of Azerbaijan, as well as Asia and Europe, through Armenia.

“Our hope is that that will build the kind of economic and natural resource and critical mineral cooperation that will make it possible to really make this incredible peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia stick,” Vance said during his remarks in Azerbaijan Tuesday. “We know that one of the great things that can prevent fighting and prevent wars from breaking out is when two peoples culturally exchange with one another, when they spend time working with one another, and of course, when they create great prosperity by working together as opposed to fighting one another.”

Vance and President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan signed the Charter on Strategic Partnership, marking an alliance between the two countries for “greater peace and prosperity in the region,” Vance said. “It will lead to more access to more markets for the workers of the United States of America, and it’s just going to create a much better world where people are engaging in commerce with one another rather than fighting with one another.

“And I think that is the core of the President of the United States’ mission and foreign policy: this recognition that we can order, organize around shared interests and actually build something great with one another.”

Aliyev announced the provision of natural gas resources to 16 countries – 11 of which are NATO members and U.S. allies, he said. Vance praised Aliyev as the only leader, apart from Trump, who has managed to maintain good relations with both the Turks and the Israelis. He also spoke of the “underappreciated partnership and friendship” between the U.S. and Azerbaijan, praising the Azerbaijani troops as some of the “toughest and fiercest,” who aided in the global war on terrorism and were “some of the last to leave Afghanistan.”

Vance credited the secured peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia to the countries’ respective leaders and the aid of President Trump.

“Three people created historic peace: the president of this country, the prime minister of Armenia, and of course, the President of the United States,” Vance said. “Working together, they created peace, where there was previous war, and I think in the future, will create prosperity, where once there was only fighting and conflict.”