Yerevan, Armenia - Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit Armenia on Tuesday, Yerevan said, as the Caucasus country long allied with Russia warms its ties with the West.
Under Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the former Soviet republic froze its membership in the Russian-led CSTO military alliance and has expressed an interest in joining the European Union, angering the Kremlin.
"On May 26, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit Armenia," the Armenian foreign ministry said in a social media post Monday, saying he would meet his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan.
"Signing of bilateral documents is also included in the agenda," it said.
When asked to comment on the visit, the Kremlin said that it "continues dialogue with our Armenian friends and will keep doing so in the future".
Vice President JD Vance visited the mountainous country earlier this year after Washington brokered a deal between Armenia and neighbouring Azerbaijan.
The long-time rivals fought multiple wars over the Nagorno-Karabakh region for decades.
After Armenia conceded the disputed region to Azerbaijan in 2023, relations with Russia cooled as Yerevan accused Moscow of failing to protect its ally. Armenia is dependent on Moscow economically and hosts a Russian military base.
Yerevan recently hosted an EU summit that was attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, triggering criticism from the Kremlin.
Pashinyan, who was elected on the back of anti-corruption street protests in 2018, is facing a highly contested parliamentary election in June, in which he is challenged by opponents he describes as pro-Moscow.