The leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia signed an agreement aimed at ending decades of conflict between the two countries during a ceremony hosted by US President Donald Trump. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan shook hands after the White House leader described the event as “historic,” IPN reports, citing the BBC.
According to the US president, the agreement will allow the reopening of key transport routes between the two countries and increase US influence in the region.
Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a conflict between 1980 and 1990 over Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave with a majority Armenian population located on Azerbaijani territory. Violence has flared up periodically since then. Under the agreement, the two countries have committed to cease all hostilities “forever,” recognize each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and develop relations in the areas of travel, trade, and diplomatic cooperation.
“Today we are establishing peace in the Caucasus,” said the Azerbaijani president, adding that “many years have been lost in wars, occupation, and bloodshed”.
The Armenian prime minister described the signing of the agreement as “a significant turning point” in bilateral relations.
Under the agreement, the United States will support the construction of a transit corridor linking Azerbaijan to its autonomous exclave of Nakhchivan, which is separated from the rest of the country by Armenian territory. The route will be named the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity”.
The US president also announced that he had signed bilateral agreements with both countries to expand cooperation in the fields of energy and technology.
The President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, welcomed the agreement reached by Azerbaijan and Armenia. “We congratulate both sides, together with President Trump, for helping to pave the way for peace, reconciliation, and greater prosperity in the region,” Maia Sandu wrote on social media. The head of state sent congratulations to the leaders in Baku and Yerevan, as well as to President Donald Trump, noting their “contribution to paving the way for peace, reconciliation, and greater prosperity in the region”.
