On December 23, U.S. President Donald Trump met with Armenia’s Ambassador to the United States, Narek Mkrtchyan, at the White House, where he praised Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s role in advancing the peace process and presented a personally inscribed gift for Pashinyan as a sign of high appreciation, reports the Armenian Embassy in Washington, D.C.
During the meeting, held as part of an event organized for newly appointed ambassadors, Mkrtchyan thanked Trump for his consistent efforts to establish peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as for the historic agreement and documents signed at the White House on August 8.
Trump congratulated the Armenian people, emphasizing that they deserve lasting peace, and reaffirmed his unconditional support for peace-oriented processes. He also highlighted Pashinyan’s leadership and underscored his significant role in advancing the peace process.
As a sign of high appreciation, Trump presented Mkrtchyan with a personally inscribed gift for Pashinyan.
Mkrtchyan, who previously served as Armenia’s Labour Minister, was appointed as Ambassador to the U.S. in August 2025.
On August 8, a trilateral meeting was held at the White House between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, during which a joint Declaration on the outcomes of the Washington meeting was signed. In Washington, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, in the presence of the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the United States, initialed the agreement “On Peace and the Establishment of Interstate Relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan.”
The beginning of 2026 is expected to be highly active in Armenia in terms of the implementation of U.S. policy, particularly in connection with discussions around the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), according to Suren Sargsyan, a U.S. foreign policy expert and founder of the Armenian Center for American Studies.
Sargsyan said that, based on information available to him, a visit by a very high-ranking U.S. official to Armenia is expected in February 2026. He did not rule out the possibility that the Trump Route agenda could also be formally launched at the political level.
Former Member of Parliament Arman Babajanyan, president of the For the Republic Party, said earlier that he has information suggesting that Vice President Vance could visit Armenia in February 2026. Babajanyan did not disclose the source of the information.
Armenpress requested confirmation from the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has neither confirmed nor denied the report.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ani Badalyan did not address the claim directly, stating that “information on planned high-level visits to Armenia is provided in a timely and appropriate manner.”
On Monday, the Associated Press reported that the Trump administration has recalled nearly 30 career diplomats, including the U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, Kristina Kvien. All of the recalled diplomats, including Kvien, were reportedly appointed under the Biden administration.
The following day, the U.S. Embassy in Armenia confirmed that Ambassador Kvien will conclude her tenure in mid-January 2026.
The last occasion Armenia hosted a top U.S. official was September 17, 2022, when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the country.
