In the days leading up to the U.S. presidential election, Republican candidate Donald Trump reiterated his support for what he termed the “issue of Artsakh” and emphasized the importance of establishing peace in the region. This statement reportedly came during a phone call with an Armenian church leader based in Lebanon.
According to a recent statement from the Armenian Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia—a major branch of the Armenian Apostolic Church—Trump expressed his gratitude to His Holiness Aram I for his leadership. The former U.S. president assured the Catholicosate head of his full commitment to supporting Artsakh and working towards lasting peace in the region. Trump also praised the Armenian community in the United States as a “powerful and organized” group, the statement noted.
During the call, Aram I thanked Trump for his recent public stance on Artsakh and underscored the importance of U.S. involvement in the issue. He highlighted the need for strong representation for Armenian-Americans in the future U.S. administration.
Trump, who has actively courted Armenian-American voters, recently blamed the current U.S. administration for last year’s forced exodus of ethnic Armenians from Artsakh. In an October 24 post on his Truth Social platform, Trump criticized Vice President Kamala Harris for inaction on this issue, stating, “Kamala Harris did NOTHING as 120,000 Armenian Christians were horrifically persecuted and forcibly displaced in Artsakh.” He further pledged to “protect persecuted Christians” and to restore peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan if elected president.
Vice President Harris previously issued a statement on September 23 addressing Armenian concerns. She pledged continued support for Armenia and acknowledged the right of Karabakh Armenians to return safely to their homeland. However, her stance was met with skepticism from the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), which criticized her for not taking stronger action against Azerbaijan.
The ANCA, a prominent Armenian-American advocacy group, responded to news of Trump’s recent exchange with Catholicos Aram I, welcoming “the centering of Artsakh in our American electoral arena.” The ANCA also acknowledged Harris’s engagement with the Armenian-American community but has not formally endorsed either Trump or Harris.
Artsakh, historically a self governing autonomous oblast within the USSR, declared independence following the Soviet Union’s collapse in the early 1990s, functioning autonomously for nearly 30 years. Azerbaijan gained control of much of the region after the 2020 war, which resulted in significant casualties on both sides and a mass exodus of Armenians from the area. After Azerbaijan’s recent offensive in September 2023, over 100,000 ethnic Armenians fled to Armenia within a week, sparking international criticism but no punitive actions from the Biden administration.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) head, Samantha Power, visited Armenia in July and indicated that Washington was assessing whether the mass displacement constituted ethnic cleansing. Azerbaijan, however, denies allegations of forced displacement, asserting that Armenians can live peacefully under Azerbaijani rule—an option widely rejected by Artsakh Armenians and leaders alike. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia, who has accused Baku of ethnic cleansing, has indicated that his administration considers the Artsakh issue resolved.
