Donald Trump is set to host the leaders of long-time adversaries Armenia and Azerbaijan. Nikol Pashinyan and Ilham Aliyev will join the US president at the White House “to pursue economic opportunities,” Trump said.
US President Donald Trump is to host a “peace summit” on Friday between long-time adversaries Armenia and Azerbaijan at the White House.
Trump announced the summit via his Truth Social platform, saying Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan would both be attending.
“President Aliyev AND Prime Minister Pashinyan will join me at the White House for an official Peace Signing Ceremony,” Trump posted.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told reporters that Trump would sign deals with both Armenia and Azerbaijan on energy, technology, economic cooperation, border security, infrastructure and trade..
What’s the history between Armenia and Azerbaijan?
Sworn enemies for decades, Armenia and Azerbaijan have twice gone to war over the disputed Karabakh region, which Azerbaijan recaptured from Armenian forces in a 2023 offensive, sparking the exodus of more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians.
The two former Soviet republics have held talks aimed at securing a peaceful resolution, including last month in the United Arab Emirates, but a breakthrough has so far proved elusive.
“These two Nations have been at War for many years, resulting in the deaths of thousands of people,” Trump wrote.
“Many Leaders have tried to end the War, with no success, until now, thanks to ‘TRUMP.’ My Administration has been engaged with both sides for quite some time,” he added, saying he was “very proud of these courageous Leaders for doing the right thing.”
Friday “will be a Historic Day for Armenia, Azerbaijan, the United States, and, THE WORLD,” Trump said.
The US president also said that Washington will sign bilateral deals with both nations “to pursue Economic opportunities together, so we can fully unlock the potential of the South Caucasus Region.”
Azerbaijan wants Armenia to change constitution
Farhad Mammadov, director of the Center for Studies of the South Caucasus, told DW that Azerbaijan remains uncompromising on its core demands: dissolving the OSCE Minsk Group and removing any constitutional claims by Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh.
Security expert Olesya Vartanyan warned that such constitutional changes could trigger a domestic crisis in Armenia, where Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s popularity continues to erode.
“Since the Second Karabakh War five years ago, he’s been walking a political tightrope,” Vartanyan said, noting that concessions to Baku are fueling internal dissent.
Both experts agree that the Washington meeting reflects a broader trend of Russia’s diminishing role in the South Caucasus peace process.
Trump gets Nobel Peace Prize nomination from Cambodian PM
The latest diplomatic push from Washington comes a day after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said he had nominated Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize.
Trump has repeatedly praised his own diplomatic efforts, saying he deserves the prize,
He has long-since vowed to end the war in Ukraine, though has yet to yield any results, with Russia’s full-scale invasion at the three-and-a-half year mark.
Trump has grown increasingly frustrated as his efforts continue to fall on deaf ears, at least in Moscow.
Conflict in Gaza is still raging while the United States is one of three countries which account for almost all of Israel’s weapons supply, along with Germany and Italy.
Edited by: Wesley Dockery
DW News
