J.D. Vance’s South Caucasus trip and test for US diplomacy |
US Vice President J.D. Vance is scheduled to visit Armenia and Azerbaijan in February 2026, in a high-level diplomatic trip aimed at reinforcing a US-brokered peace process and advancing broader cooperation in the South Caucasus. US President Donald Trump announced the visit, highlighting its role in building on recent peace efforts between the two countries.
The trip comes months after Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a US-mediated peace agreement in August 2025 that formally ended decades of conflict over Qarabag (formerly Nagorno-Karabakh), reaffirmed territorial integrity, and committed both sides to non-violence and international law.
Why South Caucasus suddenly become US priority
This visit marks a rare vice-presidential engagement in the South Caucasus, highlighting increased US attention to regional stability and integration. Previous US vice-presidential visits to Baku were rare historical events; the region has generally been peripheral to senior US diplomacy until now. In fact, January 2025 can be called a kind of turning point in US-Azerbaijani relations. This year can also be considered a step towards a peace phase between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the launch of the TRIPP project on the Zangezur Corridor, Azerbaijan's participation in a number of platforms promoted by the US, including full membership in the Board of Peace over Gaza, and at the same time a year of impetus in trade turnover between Baku and Washington.
Undoubtedly, the geopolitical realities that have emerged in recent years are of particular importance. Once a co-leader of the Armenia–Azerbaijan peace process, the Kremlin is now largely absent from it. Today, the White House has taken the........