The agreements themselves carry weight. The nuclear cooperation deal opens the door to US investment in a sector of Armenia’s economy that has so far been dominated by Russia.
That is particularly relevant as the Metsamor nuclear power plant is scheduled to shut down in 2036 and plans are underway to build a new reactor.
The current operator and nuclear fuel supplier is Russia’s Rosatom, which hopes to secure the next contract as well.
Although Pashinyan has suggested extending Metsamor's operation by another decade—a move seen as avoiding friction with Moscow—he did so after Vance announced that the United States was prepared to invest up to USD 9 billion in Armenian nuclear projects.
It seems unlikely that Armenia would forgo such funding voluntarily.
The "strategic partnership charter" with Azerbaijan sounds more ambitious, though much of it outlines general intentions to deepen cooperation.
It covers collaboration on regional transport corridors, infrastructure and trade links, as well as security, defence and counterterrorism.
While broad in scope, the document also calls for the creation of working groups tasked with producing concrete project lists and implementation plans within three months.
The United States signed a similar charter with Armenia more than a year ago, in the final days of President Joe Biden’s administration.
Taken together, the moves point to steadily growing US interest in the South Caucasus.
US-Georgian strategic cooperation is currently effectively suspended, amid Tbilisi’s cooling relations with the West.
More consequential than the documents themselves is a project Vance repeatedly highlighted: TRIPP, short for the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity.
Beyond its branding, the initiative aims to establish road and rail links connecting mainland Azerbaijan with its exclave of Nakhchivan and onward to Turkey via Armenian territory.
The route has been closed for more than three decades because of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, and disagreements over its future status have long divided the two capitals.
Baku had pushed for what would effectively be an extraterritorial corridor, while Yerevan insisted on retaining sovereignty over the passage.
Under TRIPP, managed by a US-Armenian joint venture established in January under a 99-year agreement, the sides appear to have reached a compromise.
The world first heard about TRIPP six months ago.
On August 8, 2025, US President Donald Trump signed a declaration in Washington with Armenia's Pashinyan and Azerbaijan's Aliyev that effectively established peace in the region—though a formal treaty has yet to follow.
Armenia and Azerbaijan, which entered independence in a state of war and never established diplomatic relations, recognised each other’s borders and pledged to reopen transport routes.
Trump achieved what neither the European Union nor Russia had managed—assuming Moscow genuinely sought a resolution, given that managing crises has often served its strategic interests.
The idea of a transit link through Armenia was unveiled at that time.
TRIPP would mean a physical US presence in a sensitive part of the region, along Armenia’s border with Iran, where the route would run.
That would increase pressure on Tehran while strengthening Turkey, which would gain a direct land connection to its Azerbaijani ally.
The project could also weaken Moscow’s influence, though Russia retains significant leverage in the region, particularly in Armenia, where it maintains a military base in Gyumri and substantial economic and political ties, including within the Armenian Apostolic Church.
The contest for influence in the Caucasus is far from over—and it remains unclear whether Georgia will return to a pro-European course—but Vance’s visit signals that the United States intends to play a more active role than before.