Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a US-brokered peace agreement on Friday during a meeting with US President Donald Trump that would boost bilateral economic ties after decades of conflict and move them toward a full normalization of their relations.
The deal between the South Caucasus rivals – assuming it holds – would be a significant accomplishment for the Trump administration that is sure to rattle Moscow, which sees the region as within its sphere of influence.
“It’s a long time – 35 years – they fought and now they’re friends, and they’re going to be friends for a long time,” Trump said at a signing ceremony at the White House, where he was flanked by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
Trump said the two countries had committed to stop fighting, open up diplomatic relations and respect each other’s territorial integrity.
The agreement includes exclusive US development rights to a strategic transit corridor through the South Caucasus that the White House said would facilitate greater exports of energy and other resources.
Trump said the United States signed separate deals with each country to expand cooperation on energy, trade and technology, including artificial intelligence. Details were not released.
