By Suren Sargsyan
Special to the Mirror-Spectator
The previous year was quite rich for Armenia in terms of events and developments, as well as opportunities and challenges. First of all, political processes related to Armenia have intensified, especially from the US side, shaping a new situation in the South Caucasus in terms of US involvement. All this means that developments concerning Armenia in 2026 will be unprecedentedly active and dynamic. At the same time, in the final days of last year, answers to several important questions, predictions, and clarifications that I had raised in my various articles emerged almost simultaneously. In particular, it was announced that Turkish Airlines will open flights to Yerevan — an outcome I had predicted in one of my articles published by the Armenian Mirror-Spectator. At the same time, it became clear that Turkey is considering introducing a preferential visa regime for holders of Armenian special passports, and Armenia is preparing to implement a similar measure for Turkish citizens.
It was also announced by Armenian officials that the railway route associated with the so-called “Trump route” cannot be operated by the Russian South Caucasus Railway systems. This was an issue I had previously raised, arguing that such an arrangement would be impractical. Most recently, it was officially confirmed that this railway will not be serviced by Russia.
On December 24, I published information on my Facebook account stating that a very high-ranking American official would visit Armenia, noting that the visit would most likely be aimed at the formal opening of the so-called “Trump route.” I did not disclose a name, but I was aware that, in all likelihood, the visit would be carried out by Vice President Vance. This information spread through the Armenian media space at lightning speed and soon became an undisputed report. Importantly, it also provided an answer to a key question — namely, when the Trump route would be formally opened.
As we can see, the beginning of the coming year will be extremely active for Armenia from the perspective of US policy implementation. Against this backdrop, reports regarding the recall of the US ambassador are of particular interest. It was crucial to understand whether the ambassador would remain in office during the visit of the high-ranking official or whether she would be replaced by a chargé d’affaires ad interim, given that the likelihood of appointing a new ambassador within such a short timeframe is virtually zero.
