The U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and the Armenian Foreign Minister, Ararat Mirzoian, signed a strategic partnership agreement in Yerevan, a few days before the parliamentary elections.

Marco Rubio, the U.S. Secretary of State, and Ararat Mirzoian, the Armenian Foreign Minister, signed a strategic partnership agreement in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, on Tuesday, less than two weeks before the parliamentary elections scheduled for June 7. The agreement also includes a framework for critical minerals, as well as another agreement regarding cooperation for a 43 km transit corridor, which would facilitate Azerbaijan's access to the Nakhchivan enclave and, subsequently, to Turkey. The meeting took place at Zvartnots International Airport in Yerevan during a short layover for Rubio. This visit comes amid a tense electoral context, in which Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's pro-Western party is facing pro-Russian opposition. The Kremlin has warned that Armenia could lose economic advantages related to Russian gas if it moves away from integration with Russia.