Nations of Armenia and Azerbaijan pledge perpetual ceasefire, as per declarations made by former U.S. President Trump.
The South Caucasus region has witnessed a significant geopolitical shift with the signing of a historic peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan, brokered by US President Donald Trump. The deal, which was sealed at a "peace summit" in the White House, includes a joint declaration aimed at ending decades of conflict and the creation of a strategic transit corridor known as the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP).
The TRIPP corridor, spanning 27 miles and connecting Azerbaijan with its exclave Nakhchivan, has been awarded exclusive development rights to the US for a period of 99 years. This corridor bypasses Russia and Iran, potentially diminishing their regional influence. Under the agreement, the US can sublease the land to a consortium for the development of rail, oil, gas, fiber optics, and possibly electricity transmission along the Zangezur corridor.
The deal is seen as a major geopolitical shift, marking a decline in Russia’s influence due to its focus on the Ukraine war and failures to maintain peace enforcement in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Minsk Group, a mediation body under the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), is understood to have been dissolved or sidelined with this US-brokered deal gaining primacy.
Despite the deal's hailed as a breakthrough, some complexities remain. For instance, Iran has threatened to block the corridor citing security concerns, despite welcoming the peace deal itself.
The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan have committed to a lasting peace, stopping all fighting, opening up commerce, travel, and diplomatic relations, and respecting each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity. However, the details of the economic deals between the US and the two nations are not yet disclosed.
The peace deal, if implemented, would be a major breakthrough in a region where several powers, including Russia, the European Union, the United States, and Turkey, jostle for influence. The former Soviet republics went to war twice over the disputed Karabakh region, which Azerbaijan recaptured from Armenian forces in a 2023 offensive.
The exodus of more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians occurred as a result of this offensive. The two nations have feuded for decades over their border and the status of ethnic enclaves within each other's territories.
The deal to normalize ties between Armenia and Azerbaijan would join a growing list of US-brokered initiatives for which Trump believes he should win a Nobel Peace Prize. On Thursday, the leaders of both nations suggested sending a joint appeal to the Nobel committee to award Trump the Peace Prize.
Sources: 1. BBC News 2. Reuters 3. CNN 4. The New York Times
The historic peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan, brokered by US President Donald Trump, signifies a shift in the South Caucasus region's geopolitics, with implications for policy-and-legislation and politics. The agreement, which includes the creation of the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), offers opportunities for US investments in areas such as rail, oil, gas, fiber optics, and electricity transmission, implications that extend beyond the immediate war-and-conflicts. This significant development is being closely followed by general-news outlets, as evidenced by reports from BBC News, Reuters, CNN, and The New York Times.
