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President Donald Trump will host the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan at the White House on Friday for what he is calling a “historic” peace summit to formally end decades of fighting over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Trump said Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will join him for an official peace signing ceremony, with the United States also entering bilateral agreements with both nations to expand economic cooperation in the South Caucasus.
“These two Nations have been at War for many years, resulting in the deaths of thousands of people,” Trump wrote Thursday on Truth Social.
“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. Tomorrow, President Aliyev AND Prime Minister Pashinyan will join me at the White House for an official Peace Signing Ceremony,” he continued.
“The United States will also sign Bilateral Agreements with both Countries to pursue Economic opportunities together, so we can fully unlock the potential of the South Caucasus Region. I am very proud of these courageous Leaders for doing the right thing for the Great People of Armenia and Azerbaijan. It will be a Historic Day for Armenia, Azerbaijan, the United States, and, THE WORLD,” Trump added.
A U.S. official told Reuters the deal will include Armenia granting rights to the United States to develop a transit corridor through the South Caucasus, a critical link for global trade and energy between the Black and Caspian Seas. The corridor will be named after Trump, who has made Middle East and Eurasian peace efforts a hallmark of his presidency.
The conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh dates back to the early 1990s after the Soviet Union collapsed. The mostly ethnic Armenian population sought to join Armenia, sparking a war with Azerbaijan. Tens of thousands died, and both countries saw ethnic minorities forced to flee.
The fragile peace collapsed in 2020 with renewed border clashes, followed by Azerbaijan’s 2023 blockade and full-scale offensive that drove Armenians from the region. Russia, previously the leading peace broker, scaled back its role after invading Ukraine in 2022, creating a vacuum that the U.S. has moved to fill.