Historic Peace Congress Annexes U.S., Armenia, and Azerbaijan
Announced on Friday by U.S. President Donald Trump, Armenia and Azerbaijan have pledged to establish enduring peace following numerous years of animosity. This commitment was made during a convergence at the White House, attended by the South Caucasus adversaries’ respective leaders. Trump had labeled the meeting a ‘groundbreaking peace congress.’ Trump remarked, ‘Armenia and Azerbaijan are making a promise to cease all hostilities indefinitely, initiate trade and travel, establish diplomatic connections, and honor one another’s autonomy and territorial borders.’
Additionally, Trump communicated his intention to loosen constraints on military collaboration with Azerbaijan. The agreement’s specific details were not disclosed right away, yet it is now part of a series of initiatives that the United States has mediated. Trump asserts that these efforts should make him a contender for the Nobel Peace Prize. The President jubilantly stated on his Truth Social platform, ‘Numerous heads of state have strove to terminate the hostilities, yet only now has it been achieved, thanks to ‘TRUMP.”
The dispute has been longstanding between predominantly Christian Armenia and chiefly Muslim Azerbaijan, fundamentally rooted in territorial bounds and the status of ethnic pockets within each nation’s territories. The former Soviet states twice entered into a war due to the disputed region of Karabakh. Azerbaijan managed to regain control of the area from the Armenian forces during a swift 2023 offensive. This event led to over 100,000 ethnic Armenians abandoning the area.
The countries concurred on a detailed peace agreement text in March, yet Azerbaijan has since tabled numerous provisions. These prerequisites include modifications to Armenia’s constitution to relinquish territorial claims to Karabakh before the agreement can be ratified. Prime Minister Pashinyan of Armenia has revealed plans for a constitutional referendum in 2027. However, opinion among Armenians on the issue remains split.
The proposed agreement includes a ‘collective proclamation’ that will set up a transit corridor linking Azerbaijan and its separated region of Nakhchivan- a long-standing request of Baku. The nations were scheduled to formally request the dismantling of the Minsk Group, an obsolete intermediary body affiliated with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Both nations were also anticipated to establish bilateral financial deals with the United States.
An official from the White House lightly commented, ‘Armenia steps away from this as a significant geopolitical trade ally, conceivably the grandest and most strategic in the world, that being the United States of America.’ The anonymous official further noted the obvious ‘losers’ in this case to be China, Russia, and Iran.
Trump frequently extols his diplomatic contributions to put a stop to lethal conflicts, particularly those between Cambodia and Thailand, as well as the antagonistic India and Pakistan. During their time at the White House, the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan proposed compiling a joint request to the Nobel committee for Trump to be awarded the Peace Prize.
Aliyev voiced, ‘Considering that the leaders of the nations which were embroiled in war for more than thirty years are bestowing this historic signature here, it unquestionably signifies a great deal.’ On Thursday, the Prime Minister of Cambodia announced his nomination of Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize.
Despite all these diplomatic strides, the long-standing Russia-Ukraine conflict and the famine ensuing from Israel’s Gaza attack remain unsolved. A pact to regularize relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan is poised to be a significant leap forward in an arena where multiple powers, including Russia, the European Union, the United States, and Turkey, are vying for control.