U.S. Vice President JD Vance, left, and Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan meet in Yerevan, Armenia, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (Kevin Lamarque/Pool Photo via AP)
Washington and Yerevan on Feb. 9 inked a series of agreements on drone procurement worth $11 million and nuclear cooperation during the U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Armenia.
Vance landed in Armenia — a country that no sitting U.S. vice president or president has visited before — as the Trump administration offered economic opportunities while it works to advance a U.S.-brokered deal aimed at ending a decades-long conflict with Azerbaijan.
Vance and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed an agreement to push forward negotiations on a civil nuclear energy deal. Vance said the U.S. was ready to export advanced computer chips and surveillance drones to Armenia and invest in the country's infrastructure.
The visit comes after Pashinyan signed a deal at the White House in August 2025 with Azerbaijani President İlham Aliyev where the leaders signed agreements reaffirming their commitment to signing a peace treaty
“Peace is not made by cautious people,” said Vance, who was expected travel to Azerbaijan on Feb. 10.
“Peace is not made by people who are too focused on the past. Peace is made by people who are focused on the future.”
Vance also announced a new defense deal involving the sale of V-BAT surveillance drones to Armenia.
“For the first time, we are announcing a major military technology sale—$11 million worth of surveillance drone technology,” he said, stressing that the drones would be used for Armenia’s security while also creating new jobs and investment opportunities in the U.S. defense technology sector.
During the visit, the United States and Armenia also signed a memorandum of understanding on peaceful cooperation in the field of nuclear energy.
Pashinyan welcomed the agreements, saying it marked significant progress in U.S.-Armenian military and defense cooperation. “
“Just a few days ago, we met with the president of Azerbaijan in Abu Dhabi. My impression is that we are very close to the point where peace can be considered irreversible — we may have even crossed that threshold,” the Armenia premier said.
The August 2025 deal between the two former Soviet republics calls for the creation of a major transit corridor dubbed the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity. It is expected to connect Azerbaijan and its autonomous Nakhichevan exclave, which are separated by a 32-kilometer-wide (20-mile-wide) patch of Armenian territory.
