US President Donald Trump has met with Armenia’s new Ambassador to the US, Narek Mkrtchyan, handing him a gift meant for Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan ‘as a sign of high appreciation’.
The gift was handed over to Narek Mkrtchyan, the Armenian Ambassador to the US, who met with Trump at the White House during an event organised for newly appointed ambassadors.
Mkrtchyan was appointed to take the role in August 2025, having previously served as Labour Minister in Armenia.
The photos shared by the embassy showed Trump signing a grey box from Salisbury, with one image showing him writing ‘love’ on it.
During the meeting, Mkrtchyan thanked Trump for ‘his consistent efforts to promote peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as for the historic agreement and documents signed at the White House on 8 August’, the Armenian readout read.
The Washington summit on 8 August saw the initialling of the peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as an agreement to establish a route between Azerbaijan and its exclave of Nakhchivan through Armenia called the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP).
Nate Ostiller
In turn, Trump ‘congratulated’ Armenians, ‘emphasising that they deserve lasting peace, and reaffirmed his unconditional support for peace-oriented processes’.
Trump additionally ‘highlighted the leadership’ of Pashinyan and ‘underscored his significant role in advancing the peace process’.
Despite boasting about the established peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan, following the summit, Trump has several times called Armenia ‘Albania’ and mispronounced Azerbaijan — often pronouncing it as ‘Aber-baijan’.
Nate Ostiller
On Monday, AP reported that Trump’s administration has recalled ‘nearly 30 career diplomats’, including the US Ambassador to Armenia, Kristina Kvien.
All the diplomats, including Kvien, were reportedly appointed under the Biden administration.
The next day, the US Embassy in Armenia reported that Kvien will conclude her tenure in mid-January.
‘US policy on Armenia will not change when the Ambassador departs’, the statement of the US Embassy read.
It also noted that the US ‘remains committed to its partnership with Armenia, and looks forward to advancing the US–Armenia Strategic Partnership and implementing the bilateral agreements’ Trump and Pashinyan signed during the Washington summit.
Unconfirmed reports have suggested that the US Vice President JD Vance is planning to visit Armenia in early 2026.
