Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan (L) and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev (R) attend a meeting of CIS heads of state in Moscow, 8 October 2024. Photo: EPA/SERGEI ILNITSKY
The leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia are expected to meet in Washington on Friday to sign a US-brokered peace agreement, potentially bringing an end to decades of conflict between the two countries, US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday.
According to Trump, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will meet at the White House on Friday for an official peace signing ceremony, with both also due to sign bilateral trade agreements with the United States.
“These two Nations have been at War for many years, resulting in the deaths of thousands of people. Many Leaders have tried to end the War, with no success, until now, thanks to ‘TRUMP’,” the US leader wrote on Truth Social.
“I am very proud of these courageous Leaders for doing the right thing for the Great People of Armenia and Azerbaijan. It will be a Historic Day for Armenia, Azerbaijan, the United States, and, THE WORLD,” Trump added.
The peace agreement, which would mark the first such bilateral deal signed by Aliyev and Pashinyan, has been the subject of months of negotiations facilitated by Washington and could lay the groundwork for Azerbaijan subsequently joining the Abraham Accords, CBS News reported.
Although it is not known how the agreement will specifically address the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh, three US officials told ABC News it will establish a key transit corridor connecting Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan, an Azerbaijani region surrounded by Armenian territory, whose exclave status has long been a sticking point in discussions between the two sides.
The agreement will give the US special leasing rights to develop the Lachin Corridor and even to rename it the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, according to officials cited by ABC News.
Azerbaijan and Armenia have been in conflict for almost four decades over Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed region located within Azerbaijan despite its population being made up of an ethnic Armenian majority.
After three decades of Karabakh being run by Armenias, Azerbaijan launched a surprise invasion of the region in September 2023, taking control of the region and leading to the mass exodus of some 100,000 ethnic Armenian residents. Since then, there has been no agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the region’s status.
The agreement’s prospective signing comes amid a wider push by Washington to foster peace globally, with Trump expected to meet Russia’s Vladimir Putin for talks on the war in Ukraine in the coming days.