Trump Brings Peace to Azerbaijan and Armenia

President Donald Trump recently hosted Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the White House, where the two leaders signed a historic joint declaration for peace after decades of bitter conflict and scores of lives lost.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been at odds since the late 1980s when Nagorno-Karabakh - an Azerbaijani region that had a mostly ethnic-Armenian population - broke away from Azerbaijan with support from Armenia. The conflict escalated significantly in 2020 and again in 2023, leading to Azerbaijan regaining control over the region.

The two leaders also signed bilateral economic agreements with the U.S., unlocking the enormous potential of the South Caucasus region in trade, transit, energy, infrastructure, and technology, and creating new opportunities for the American people and American businesses. Indeed, Armenia has agreed to award the U.S. exclusive development rights on the Zangezur Corridor land for 99 years. The U.S. would sublease the land to a consortium that will develop rail, oil, gas, and fiber optic lines along the corridor.

“For more than 35 years, Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought a bitter conflict that resulted in tremendous suffering for both nations. . . .Many tried to find a resolution. . . .and they were unsuccessful. With this Accord, we’ve finally succeeded in making peace,” said President Trump. “The countries of Armenia and Azerbaijan are committing to stop all fighting forever, open up commerce, travel, and open diplomatic relations and respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

“It’s a day which will be remembered by the people of Azerbaijan with a feeling of pride and gratitude to President Trump,” said Azerbaijani President Aliev. “Within several months, he managed to put an end to conflicts in Asia, in Africa, and now in South Caucasus — what we could not achieve for more than 30 years. . . .We will turn the page of standoff, confrontation, and bloodshed, and provide a bright and safe future for our children,” said President Aliyev.

“[W}e have reached a significant milestone in Armenian and Azerbaijani relations,” declared Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan at the peace signing. “We are laying a foundation to write a better story than the one we had in the past. This breakthrough would simply not have been possible without President Trump’s personal engagement and his resolute commitment to peace.”

In addition to Azerbaijan and Armenia, President Trump has successfully brokered peace between Cambodia and Thailand, Israel and Iran, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, India and Pakistan, Egypt and Ethiopia, Serbia and Kosovo, and with the Abraham Accords.

President Trump is proving that nations across the globe can put longstanding conflicts behind them and embrace a future of peace, prosperity, and success.