Yerevan (AFP) – US Secretary of State Marco Rubio opened talks Tuesday in Armenia, a former Soviet republic long allied with Russia, which has been seeking closer relations with the West. Rubio landed in Yerevan for a brief refuelling stop on his way back from India and immediately began talks at the airport with Armenia’s foreign minister, Ararat Mirzoyan. The two countries plan to sign cooperation agreements during the stop, according to the State Department.
Armenia has been a historic ally of Russia but looked on with anger after Moscow failed to prevent Azerbaijan from carrying out a lightning offensive in 2023 that took back the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Since then, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government has frozen Armenia’s membership in the Russian-led CSTO military alliance and has expressed an interest in joining the European Union, to the Kremlin’s displeasure.
Armenia has also walked a tightrope while the United States and Israel waged war on neighbouring Iran, which has long had cordial relations with Yerevan. At a White House summit in August, Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to renounce claims to each other’s territory and refrain from using force.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has also promoted a proposed road-and-rail corridor designed to link Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan exclave, cut off from the mainland by Armenian territory. The initiative has stirred concern in neighbouring Iran, although Armenia insists the land will remain under its sovereignty. US Vice President JD Vance visited both countries in February as part of the peace push.
© 2024 AFP
