How the White House Is Keeping Russia out of the South Caucasus

Excerpt

Vice President JD Vance’s historic visit to the South Caucasus ended in controversy. Vance deleted a post on X that showed him paying respects at the Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan, along with second lady Usha Vance. That made headlines and brought on accusations of “genocide denial.”

But focusing on the deleted post misses the point entirely. Vance is the first vice president and most senior US official to visit Armenia, and his trip forms an integral part of the Trump administration’s concerted effort to cement US influence and box out Russia in a region where Moscow was long the dominant player.

Above all, Vance sought to build on last August’s White House summit, where Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a peace agreement aimed at ending nearly 40 years of conflict.

Vance focused on fulfilling some of the bilateral trade deals promised to Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev, which incentivized both to opt for peace last year. Their pact includes the creation of the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP)—a 27-mile rail and road project connecting Azerbaijan to its enclave of Nakhichevan through Armenia. TRIPP’s purpose is to provide a trade route between Central Asia and Europe that bypasses Russia and Iran.

Keti Korkiya is a research analyst in the Russia Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). Dmitriy Shapiro is a research analyst and editor at FDD. His previous experience includes 11 years in journalism, most recently serving as the DC correspondent for the Jewish News Syndicate (JNS.org), where he covered a wide range of stories with a focus on politics.