Trump Hosts Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Deal Signing at White House/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ President Donald Trump will host Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev at the White House on Friday to sign a U.S.-brokered peace deal. The agreement aims to end decades of conflict and open a vital South Caucasus transit corridor. The deal also includes economic cooperation plans and signals a geopolitical shift away from Russian influence.
Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Deal Quick Looks
- White House summit: Trump to host leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan for signing ceremony.
- Historic breakthrough: First comprehensive peace deal in nearly four decades of conflict.
- Economic cooperation: U.S. to hold leasing rights for “Trump Route” transit corridor.
- Strategic link: Corridor to connect Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave via Armenia.
- Infrastructure plans: Proposed rail, oil, gas, and fiber-optic lines across region.
- Conflict background: Rooted in Nagorno-Karabakh disputes dating back to Soviet era.
- Geopolitical shift: Armenia moving closer to the West; Russia sidelined.
- Turkey’s role: Borders with Armenia could reopen, boosting trade and regional integration.
- Regional impact: Potential to link Europe and Asia through enhanced transport corridors.
- Security question: Corridor control issue resolved, but details remain unclear.
Trump Hosts Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Deal Signing at White House
Deep Look
The White House is set to host a landmark peace summit on Friday, with U.S. President Donald Trump bringing together Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to sign a U.S.-brokered agreement aimed at ending decades of bloodshed in the South Caucasus.
Trump announced Thursday that both leaders will also sign separate accords with Washington to explore “Economic opportunities together” in the region. In a post on Truth Social, he claimed: “Many Leaders have tried to end the War, with no success, until now, thanks to ‘TRUMP.’”
A Historic Corridor for Peace and Prosperity
According to U.S. officials familiar with the negotiations, the peace deal includes a breakthrough agreement to establish a key transit corridor — dubbed the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity.” This corridor will connect Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan exclave via a 20-mile stretch of Armenian territory, opening a critical trade and infrastructure link long blocked by political tensions.
The corridor is envisioned to support rail transport, oil and gas pipelines, and high-speed fiber optic networks. While the U.S. will hold leasing rights to develop the route, private corporations are expected to handle construction costs.
The agreement follows months of back-channel diplomacy, including a visit earlier this year by Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff to Baku, and continued trilateral talks.
Four Decades of Conflict
The conflict’s roots trace back to the Nagorno-Karabakh region, an Armenian-majority enclave within Azerbaijan that declared its intent to join Armenia in the late 1980s. As the Soviet Union collapsed, a brutal war erupted from 1991 to 1994, killing around 30,000 people and displacing 1 million.
Ethnic Armenian forces, backed by Yerevan, not only took control of Nagorno-Karabakh but also seized additional Azerbaijani territories. Attempts at international mediation repeatedly failed.
In 2020, Azerbaijan — backed by NATO-member Turkey — launched a military campaign to reclaim lost territories, reclaiming swaths of Karabakh after six weeks of fighting. In 2023, Azerbaijani forces regained full control of the region, prompting over 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee to Armenia.
Shifting Geopolitical Alliances
Armenia’s decision to scale back ties with Russia — distracted by its war in Ukraine — and strengthen relations with the West created new diplomatic openings. Russia’s earlier proposal to secure the corridor with its troops was rejected by Armenia, which instead embraced a U.S.-led framework.
Analysts note that Moscow’s diminished regional clout created space for Washington to act. “Russia now lacks resources to deal with Armenia and Azerbaijan,” said Olesya Vartanyan, a South Caucasus expert.
Economic and Regional Benefits
The prospective deal could reshape trade flows across Eurasia. For Armenia, opening the corridor — alongside normalized ties with Turkey — would grant access to ports, foreign investments, and expanded trade routes. Pashinyan’s June visit to Turkey marked the first such trip by an Armenian leader and underscored his government’s push for economic integration.
Turkey and Azerbaijan, meanwhile, view the agreement as a means to enhance their influence over South Caucasus transport networks, which could link Europe to Asia more efficiently. Armenia’s Soviet-era railways and highways could become vital components of these expanded routes.
Remaining Questions
While the peace agreement is expected to resolve the long-standing dispute over control of the corridor, details of the security arrangement have not yet been made public. For now, the focus will be on Friday’s White House ceremony — a moment both sides hope will mark the end of one of the post-Soviet world’s most intractable conflicts.
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