US President Donald Trump hosted the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Washington on Friday for a peace summit aimed at ending decades of conflict and reopening transport routes in the region.
The two countries in the South Caucasus signed an agreement that will create a transit corridor, to be named the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity. That route will connect mainland Azerbaijan and its autonomous Nakhchivan region – a demand from Baku that had held up peace talks between the two nations.
Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan are separated by a 32km area of Armenian territory.
"The countries of Armenia and Azerbaijan are committing to stop all fighting forever, open up commerce, travel and diplomatic relations, and respect each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Mr Trump said.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan hailed the peace deal as "a success for our countries and for our region and the success for the world, because a more peaceful region means a safer world".
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev thanked Mr Trump for hosting the "historic event" and said that the US-Azerbaijan deal encompassed "mutual investment, trade, energy, connectivity, transit, AI, defence, sales, counter-terrorism".
The war between Azerbaijan and Armenia was over Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory disputed since the Soviet era. The two nations battled for control of the region through violent clashes that left tens of thousands dead over nearly four decades, while international mediation efforts failed.
It ended in 2023 after Baku reclaimed the territory, long recognised as belonging to Azerbaijan but which was held by Armenia for decades. The two countries have since been working to restore relations.
Armenia and Azerbaijan held peace talks in Abu Dhabi in July, during which both sides agreed to continue negotiations and “confidence-building measures”. President Sheikh Mohamed said the decision to hold the talks in the UAE emphasised that the country is trusted as a supporter of peace and diplomatic solutions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Mr Trump has positioned himself as a peacemaker and has claimed to have ended five conflicts so far. He has expressed his desire several times to win a Nobel Peace Prize. Mr Aliev suggested that he and Mr Pashinyan send a joint appeal to ensure the prize for Mr Trump.
"This is a tangible result of President Trump's leadership, and no one else could have achieved that," Mr Aliyev said. "Who, if not President Trump, deserves the Nobel Peace Prize?"
Armenia and Azerbaijan fall within Russia's sphere of influence and Moscow had attempted unsuccessfully for decades to bring the conflict to a end.
It also comes as the US attempts to broker a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. Bloomberg reported on Friday that Washington and Moscow were aiming to reach a deal to halt the war that would lock in Russia’s occupation of territory seized during its military invasion.
