The Armenian government’s press office said Pashinian briefed Trump on “recent years’ developments in Armenia-U.S. relations and their current state.”
“Issues relating to the regional agenda were also discussed,” it added in a short statement.
No other details were reported. Neither Trump nor members of his entourage commented on the call on social media or otherwise.”
Pashinian was quick to congratulate Trump on his resounding victory in the November 5 presidential election. In a congratulatory message, the Armenian premier expressed confidence that bilateral ties will be “further strengthened” and elevated to “strategic partnership” during Trump’s second presidency.
The administration of outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden has strongly supported Pashinian in his efforts to reorient Armenia towards the West that have caused unprecedented tensions in the South Caucasus nation’s relations with Russia, its traditional ally. Washington has also repeatedly tried to broker a peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
It remains to be seen whether the incoming Trump administration will show as much interest in helping Yerevan leave Moscow’s orbit and ending the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. Trump never held face-to-face talks with Pashinian during his first term in office which ended in the wake of the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Republican courted Armenian American voters during the U.S. presidential race. In an October 24 statement, he blamed the Biden administration for last year’s forced exodus of Nagorno-Karabakh’s ethnic Armenian population and pledged to end the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict if he wins the election.
“Kamala Harris did NOTHING as 120,000 Armenian Christians were horrifically persecuted and forcibly displaced in Artsakh,” he said.
Trump went on to call Catholicos Aram I, the number two figure in the Armenian Apostolic Church who oversees some of its dioceses in the United States.