President Donald Trump announced Friday that Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a peace agreement at the White House, aimed at ending decades of conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
The long-running dispute has drawn international concern, including from U.S. lawmakers. As The Dallas Express previously reported, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) warned of a potential genocide against Armenian Christians during an emergency committee meeting in 2023, citing a blockade of the Lachin corridor that left many residents in dire conditions.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed the declaration during a ceremony in Washington, D.C. The deal is intended to open new economic opportunities in the South Caucasus, a strategically important area linking Europe and Asia.
“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,” Trump said at the White House signing ceremony.
The two former Soviet republics have disputed the Nagorno-Karabakh territory since the late 1980s. Previous international mediation efforts, including those by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, have failed to produce a lasting resolution.
Statements from Aliyev and Pashinyan praising Trump’s diplomatic role were posted by the account @RapidResponse47 on X, which shared clips from the White House livestream. Aliyev said, “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.”
Pashinyan added, “Today, we have reached a significant milestone in Armenian and Azerbaijani relations. 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.”
Alongside the peace accord, Armenia and Azerbaijan also signed bilateral economic agreements with the United States. The deals aim to expand trade, improve energy cooperation, and invest in infrastructure development across the region.
Trump’s office said his administration has mediated other agreements since returning to office, but those claims have not been independently verified.
The Armenia-Azerbaijan accord marks the first U.S.-brokered agreement between the two countries in decades and will require ongoing cooperation to ensure implementation.
