US strategy in Armenia

Yerevan (AsiaNews) – The United States is seeking to expand its influence in the South Caucasus by supporting democratic institutions, market reforms and technology. The US strategy in Armenia reflects key aspects of the two countries’ international agendas, as set out in the Strategic Partnership Charter signed in January 2025. In May 2026, the parties signed further framework agreements aimed at linking Armenia economically to the United States, through infrastructure and resources, and at restructuring it institutionally in line with Western standards. This is expected to take place without military commitments and with minimal investment.

Washington’s main objective is to consolidate its presence in the South Caucasus as a counterweight to Russia, Iran and China. The United States’ advantages lie in its influential and integrated Armenian diaspora, the pro-Western government of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and its infrastructural leverage. American analysts describe the Tripp (Trump Route Initiative, the ‘Trump Peace Corridor’) as a US-style version of China’s ‘New Silk Road’.

The US strategy in Armenia is not a collection of disparate projects, but a coherent geopolitical plan. It can be divided into three areas, the first of which is the economic sphere, centred on control over corridors and resources. The Tripp is not just a road, but a complex system: a railway, a motorway, oil and gas pipelines, power lines and fibre-optic networks. The Tdc joint venture, in which the United States holds a 74 per cent stake and Armenia 26 per cent, will be granted rights for 49 years with an option to extend for a further 50. This will give Washington an institutional presence in the Europe–Caucasus–Asia corridor, and a tool to influence European economic policy (the EU’s Global Gateway programme). At the same time, the Tripp could divert flows away from the Russian-Iranian-Indian North-South Corridor, providing the United States with logistical access to the region and beyond.

The second aspect is strictly geopolitical, based on the cooling of Russian-Armenian relations. Armenia is a member of the Eurasian military alliance CSTO and the post-Soviet Economic Union EAEU, and there is a Russian military base in Gyumri. The United States intends to gradually reorient Yerevan towards the West through the supply of American weaponry (V-BAT reconnaissance drones worth $11 million, armoured vehicles and IT equipment) and the Eagle Partner joint exercises, which involve US, French and Greek military units, with the effective application of NATO standards. However, there are no plans to deploy American troops in the region.

At an institutional level, soft power is applied through US agencies, through which the United States promotes the digitisation of customs and border management systems, supports independent media and develops artificial intelligence. This is a classic practice aimed at fostering institutional dependence, whereby Armenian government systems begin to operate using Western technologies and standards.

In implementing its strategy, however, the United States avoids military involvement: no American troops and no security guarantees, only a commercial and technical presence. A direct confrontation with Russia or Iran in Armenia is out of the question: the Tripp agreement itself will be protected by private military companies.