Catholicos Aram I of the Great House of Cilicia has sent a special letter to U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance urging his attention to the release of the imprisoned leadership of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and Armenian prisoners of war held in Baku, noting the letter is already on the Vice President’s desk ahead of his scheduled visits to Armenia and Azerbaijan next week, the Holy See of Cilicia reported on Facebook.
His Holiness also drew the U.S. Vice President’s attention to the urgent need to ensure the safe preservation of spiritual and cultural monuments in Artsakh, appealing for his personal intervention.
In the letter, Catholicos Aram I recalled that international law clearly underscores the importance of both the release of prisoners of war and the protection of spiritual and cultural heritage.
Vance’s upcoming trip comes amid a renewed U.S.-backed diplomatic push in the South Caucasus. On January 26, Zartonk Media reported that President Donald Trump announced Vance would visit Armenia and Azerbaijan in February to build on Washington-backed efforts tied to an August 2025 agreement that Trump has described as a peace deal, though it was initialed rather than formally concluded.
Trump also said the visit would advance the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” (TRIPP), a U.S.-backed framework intended to link mainland Azerbaijan with its exclave of Nakhichevan across southern Armenia, and he signaled plans to strengthen U.S.-Azerbaijan ties, pursue proposed nuclear cooperation with Armenia, and move forward with the sale of U.S.-made defense equipment to Azerbaijan, without providing further details.
