Vance heads overseas for the Winter Olympics. Then he’ll stop in Armenia and Azerbaijan

Vice President JD Vance is heading overseas on a trip combining diplomacy and sports, leading President Donald Trump’s delegation to the 2026 Winter Olympics and afterward stopping in Armenia and Azerbaijan in a show of support for a peace agreement brokered by the White House last year.

At the opening ceremony of the Milan Cortina Winter Games on Friday, the vice president will lead a U.S. delegation that includes his wife, second lady Usha Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Ambassador to Italy Tilman Fertitta. Former Olympic gold medalists will also be in the delegation, including hockey player sisters Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson and Monique Lamoureux-Morando; speedskater Apolo Ohno and figure skater Evan Lysacek.

After Italy, Vance heads to Armenia and Azerbaijan, where Trump has tasked him with building on a deal aimed at ending four decades of conflict between the two countries.