Rubio: US-Armenia relations enter new phase after prolonged stagnation

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on 27 May that a new phase is emerging in relations between the United States and Armenia. During his visit to Yerevan on Tuesday, Rubio and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan announced a bilateral framework agreement related to the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP). The two sides also signed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Charter and a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in critical minerals. ‘We are seeing the emergence of a strong new relationship with Armenia, which had been stagnant for a very long time,’ Rubio said in a cabinet meeting. Previously, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said her government had informed Yerevan that Russia could cancel the 2013 agreement on gas, crude oil products, and rough diamonds if Armenia proceeds with its EU accession process. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also previously stated that Armenia’s EU accession could eliminate various benefits of cooperation with Russia, including preferential gas prices under the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has repeatedly stated his country wishes to join the EU, despite having to meet the bloc’s various standards. Russian President Vladimir Putin previously said Armenia’s simultaneous membership in the EU and EAEU is not possible.