Pashinyan Receives Western Endorsements Ahead of Parliamentary Elections

Abstract

On May 26, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made a brief stopover at Yerevan’s Zvartnots International Airport to meet with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan (U.S. Department of State, May 26). The visit lasted barely an hour, but it produced three signed documents and an unambiguous political signal. Rubio and Mirzoyan concluded a Charter on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, a framework agreement on the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), and a memorandum on securing the supply of critical minerals and rare earths (U.S. Department of State; Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, May 26). Standing alongside his Armenian counterpart, Rubio commended the government in Yerevan for “blazing a trail toward a brighter and more independent future” (Armenpress.am, May 26). The timing of the visit, less than two weeks before Armenia’s parliamentary elections, lent these agreements a pronounced electoral subtext.