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Vance Secures Nuclear, Tech and Defense Pacts in Armenia and Azerbaijan

The trip shifted U.S. mediation into concrete economic and security commitments.

Overview

  • Yerevan and Washington signed a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement positioning U.S. firms to replace Armenia’s Metsamor plant, with Vance citing up to $5 billion in initial exports and $4 billion in long-term fuel and maintenance contracts.
  • Armenia will receive about $11 million in U.S. reconnaissance and surveillance drone technology, as Vance also promoted prospective U.S. chip exports and infrastructure investment.
  • Baku and Washington signed a Strategic Partnership Charter spanning energy, trade, digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence, security and defense, with the U.S. pledging coastal defense vessels for Azerbaijan’s Caspian waters.
  • Talks in both capitals centered on TRIPP, a 43-kilometer road-and-rail corridor through southern Armenia linking Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan, with Vance saying global investors are eyeing the project.
  • The visit drew criticism over human-rights and prisoner-release gaps and a deleted X post that referred to the 1915 Armenian genocide, even as the broader peace framework remains without a finalized, ratified treaty.