On November 1, former US President and current presidential candidate Donald Trump contacted His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, by phone. 

According to a statement from the Catholicosate, Trump praised Aram I’s leadership following his recent tour of the United States and reiterated his support for the Armenians of Karabakh, expressing his commitment to peace in the region. Trump also commended the Armenian-American community as strong, intelligent, and dynamic.

In response, His Holiness Aram I expressed gratitude for Trump’s public support of the Armenian people, emphasizing the crucial role of US global leadership at this challenging time. He voiced hope that the incoming US administration will take the Nagorno-Karabakh issue seriously, especially in terms of guaranteeing the right of return for Karabakh Armenians, providing international security and status assurances, and ensuring accountability for acts of ethnic cleansing.

His Holiness further expressed a desire for active Armenian representation under the new administration and underscored the need for open dialogue with the Armenian Eastern and Western Dioceses of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America, as well as with the Armenian National Committee of America.