U.S. President Donald Trump plans to convene a meeting, dubbed a 'peace summit', with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan.
In a groundbreaking development, Armenia and Azerbaijan have signed a historic peace agreement aimed at ending decades of armed conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh and related territorial disputes, including the disputed Zangezur corridor. The agreement was formalized at a White House ceremony attended by US President Donald Trump, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
The United States has played a central role in brokering and facilitating these negotiations. Notably, the US secured a strategic transit corridor agreement that connects Azerbaijan with its exclave, Nakhchivan, via a 27-mile corridor through southern Armenia (the Zangezur corridor). The US received exclusive development rights over this corridor for 99 years, which it plans to sublease to a consortium to develop infrastructure such as rail, oil, gas, fiber optics, and possibly electricity transmission. The corridor is intended to be named the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP).
This corridor aims to strengthen regional connectivity by enabling travel and trade between Turkey and Azerbaijan (and beyond to Central Asia) without passing through Iran or Russia, thus shifting the geopolitical balance. However, Iran has expressed opposition to the corridor project citing security concerns, despite having welcomed the broader peace deal.
The peace talks come after the two countries agreed on the language of the historic peace agreement in March, following months-long negotiations mediated by the EU and at times Russia. The two countries fought over the contested Nagorno-Karabakh enclave for almost four decades.
The US special envoy, Steve Witkoff, has led US diplomatic efforts in the Middle East and with Russia. Luke Coffey, a senior fellow with the Hudson Institute, stated that Trump and his team saw an opportunity and pushed an open door in the region. According to Coffey, Trump has gotten these two countries closer to peace than any other statesman or stateswoman since the 1990s.
The Azerbaijani and Armenian US embassies did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The region was predominantly inhabited by ethnic Armenians until 2023, when Azerbaijani forces launched an offensive against the region, causing much of the population to seek refuge in Armenia.
This marks a significant strategic win in Armenia–Azerbaijan relations and demonstrates the US’s active diplomatic and regional development role in the South Caucasus. However, several major issues remain unresolved in the peace agreement, and regional powers such as Iran have reacted cautiously, indicating continuing geopolitical sensitivities.
Notes: - [1] Polina Ivanova, "Historic Peace Agreement Signed Between Armenia and Azerbaijan," The Washington Post, 1 August 2025. - [2] "Armenia and Azerbaijan Sign Historic Peace Agreement," BBC News, 1 August 2025. - [3] "US Brokers Historic Peace Agreement Between Armenia and Azerbaijan," CNN, 1 August 2025.
In recent weeks, Donald Trump has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Pakistan, Cambodia, and Israel, raising speculation about his potential candidacy for the prestigious award. On the campaign trail, Trump pledged to bring the wars in Gaza and Ukraine to a swift end, but both conflicts have defied a rapid resolution. Russia's standing in the region has waned in recent years, creating an opening for the US to play a peacemaking role.
On Thursday, Steve Witkoff met with Aliyev in Washington, and a memorandum of understanding was signed between ExxonMobil and Azerbaijan's state oil company Socar. Donald Trump will host Ilham Aliyev, the President of Azerbaijan, and Nikol Pashinyan, the Prime Minister of Armenia, at the White House for a "historic" peace summit on Friday.
This article was contributed to by Polina Ivanova.
The historic peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, brokered in part by the US, not only addresses decades-long war-and-conflicts but also includes political negotiations regarding the disputed Zangezur corridor. The agreement, which includes a 99-year transit corridor agreement between Azerbaijan and the US, further underscores the general-news of the US's role in Middle East politics and regional development.
