Pashinyan’s Trump-Praised Peace Push Sparks Impeachment Threat

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is facing the threat of impeachment as the domestic opposition accuses him of betraying national interests over a peace process with Azerbaijan, a deal publicly championed by former U.S. President Donald Trump. While Pashinyan enjoys international backing, his opponents are demanding his immediate resignation, fearing he will make irreversible concessions before the parliamentary elections scheduled for next summer.

The formal impeachment push is being led by the opposition “I Have Honor” bloc, which has called for Pashinyan’s urgent removal. The list of grievances is long, citing the loss of Nagorno-Karabakh, violations of Armenia’s territorial integrity, unilateral concessions to Baku, a stalled process for international recognition of the Armenian genocide, and a deterioration of relations with traditional ally Russia.

The political firestorm was fueled by a recent social media post from Donald Trump, who shared a photo of himself with Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Trump claimed it was an honor to help end the war and befriend the two leaders. In response, Pashinyan affirmed his commitment to the peace agreement, while Aliyev hailed Trump as the “architect of an eternal friendship” and praised his role in the peace process.

Despite the heated rhetoric, the path to impeachment is politically narrow. The “I Have Honor” bloc holds only 6 seats in parliament, and even with the support of the 28 deputies from the larger “Armenia” opposition bloc, they fall short of the 36 votes needed to even place the issue on the agenda. Overcoming the 54-vote threshold for removal seems impossible, as Pashinyan’s ruling “Civil Contract” party commands a two-thirds majority.

Political analyst Grant Mikaelyan notes that the opposition’s move is largely an attempt to regain attention, as their political influence wanes. However, he explained that their fears are tangible. Before the elections, Pashinyan could sign a formal peace treaty with Azerbaijan, grant a transport corridor to Nakhichevan—dubbed the “Trump road”—or dissolve the OSCE Minsk Group, a long-standing diplomatic format. Mikaelyan also suggested that a recent wave of arrests of opposition figures was a preemptive measure to neutralize potential protests ahead of a Washington-brokered summit.

Adding to the domestic pressure, Armenia’s Central Bank Chairman, Martin Galstyan, has cautioned the government against expansionary spending that could worsen the budget deficit, which already stands at 5.5%. While Galstyan described the $145 million in U.S. funding for the transport corridor as a “rather small” sum, he welcomed it as a positive signal. He concluded that such developments raise hopes for an end to the regional blockade and a final peace agreement, which would significantly improve the business environment.