US President Donald Trump has endorsed Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan ahead of Armenia’s June 7 parliamentary election, praising him as “a great friend and Leader” and linking his support to a US-backed South Caucasus infrastructure project known as the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, or TRIPP. In a Truth Social post on Wednesday, Trump said Pashinyan “completely shares my vision of PEACE and PROSPERITY for Armenia and the entire South Caucasus region,” adding that the Armenian leader had his “COMPLETE and TOTAL Endorsement for Re-Election.”JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Trump also said the US and Armenia would “break ground together” on TRIPP, which he said would “transform the South Caucasus” and help American energy companies gain access “from Central Asia all the way to the US.” The endorsement comes just one day after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Yerevan, where Washington and Armenia signed a strategic partnership agreement, as well as agreements linked to critical minerals and the proposed TRIPP corridor. The route is planned to run through southern Armenia, connecting Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan exclave and onward toward Turkey. US officials have promoted the corridor as a way to boost regional trade, deepen Armenia’s Western ties and open new transport and energy links between Central Asia, the South Caucasus and global markets.