Pashinian hit out at the administration after James O’Brien, a former U.S. assistant secretary of state, said that Armenia got no “substantial peace dividend” from agreements with Azerbaijan brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump. The agreements reached at the White House on August 8, 2025 will not necessarily resolve the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict and could actually “undermine the prospects for peace,” he wrote in an article.
Pashinian dismissed those assertions, saying that O’Brien should “explain why President Trump’s administration was able to do what they failed to do.” He also said that Yerevan was “never satisfied” with the Biden administration’s peace efforts in the South Caucasus. Pashinian and other Armenian leaders always publicly praised those efforts during Biden’s presidency.
The Armenian premier claimed on Thursday that he criticized O’Brien, rather than the former U.S. administration as a whole.
“I referred to a particular former official, who made a statement after August 8, 2025 and who was personally involved in processes,” he told reporters on August 28, 2025. “And yes, I stand by that statement.”
U.S. Secretary of State Atony Blinken and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan sign an agreement in Washington, January 14, 2025.
The Biden administration strongly supported Pashinian and avoided any criticism of his controversial policies. The Armenian opposition accused the United States as well as the European Union of turning a blind eye to undemocratic practices and human rights abuses in Armenia for geopolitical reasons.
Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan expressed confidence, meanwhile, that the Republicans’ loss of control of the U.S. Congress will have no negative impact on U.S.-Armenian relations and, in particular, Yerevan’s plans to open a U.S.-run transit corridor for Azerbaijan to be named after Trump.
“I cannot imagine the Democrats not wanting to see the TRIPP (Trump Road For International Peace and Prosperity) project quickly implemented,” he said.
The Hraparak newspaper reported earlier in the day that the Armenian authorities are actually worried that that Trump’s severe electoral setback could scuttle the project. It said that several lawmakers from Pashinian’s Civil Contract party asked the U.S. charge d’affaires in Yerevan, David Allen, to dispel those concerns at an urgent meeting held on Wednesday.
According to an official Armenian readout of the meeting, the lawmakers discussed with Alen “the U.S. role in ensuring stability and peace in the region” and progress in the TRIPP’s implementation.
