“I was very proud to have Endorsed him for Re-Election, and have no doubt that, with him as the Leader of the beautiful Country of Armenia, it will attain levels of Greatness and Success beyond everyone’s wildest expectations!” Trump wrote late on Wednesday in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Trump made the endorsement on May 28, citing Pashinian’s commitment to opening a U.S.-run transit corridor for Azerbaijan along Armenia’s border with Iran. A few days later, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan signed a bilateral framework agreement on practical modalities of what will be called the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP).
Following his election victory rejected by his political opponents as fraudulent, Pashinian said that the implementation of the TRIPP project will be one of his top policy priorities. The three main opposition groups that challenged Pashinian’s Civil Contract in the polls say that the TRIPP could endanger Armenia’s vital border with Iran.
Amid its continuing conflict with the United States and Israel, Iran likewise reaffirmed late last month its opposition to the transit arrangement which it fears could lead to U.S. security presence along the Armenian-Iranian border.
Pashinian’s reelection has also been hailed by the European Union. By contrast, Russia has questioned its legitimacy, underscoring Russian-Armenian tensions that rose further in the run-up to the Armenian elections.