In a significant diplomatic move, U.S. President Donald Trump will host the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan for a peace summit at the White House this Friday, marking a major step toward resolving the long-standing conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
President Trump announced the summit on Thursday via his social media platform, Truth Social, describing the event as “historic.” He emphasized that his administration has been actively engaged with both sides for an extended period. “My Administration has been engaged with both sides for quite some time,” Trump stated, adding that the United States will sign bilateral agreements with Armenia and Azerbaijan to promote economic collaboration and unlock the potential of the South Caucasus region.
The conflict between the two former Soviet republics centers on Nagorno-Karabakh, an internationally recognized part of Azerbaijan but predominantly inhabited and governed by ethnic Armenians since 1991 as a self-declared independent territory. The fragile peace was shattered in 2023 when Azerbaijani forces launched an offensive, causing a large displacement of ethnic Armenians into Armenia.
This summit follows a breakthrough in March when Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed on the language of a peace agreement after months of negotiations mediated by the European Union and, at times, Russia. Despite the progress, several critical issues remain unresolved.
The meeting also highlights the contrast between Trump’s efforts to broker peace in the South Caucasus and the ongoing unresolved conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. Trump, who pledged on the campaign trail to swiftly end these wars, has yet to see a resolution in those regions. His special envoy for Middle East and Russian affairs, Steve Witkoff, recently met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Washington, coinciding with the signing of a memorandum of understanding between ExxonMobil and Azerbaijan’s state oil company, Socar.
Trump has long expressed a desire to be recognized as a global peacemaker. “No, I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do, including Russia/Ukraine, and Israel/Iran, whatever those outcomes may be, but the people know, and that’s all that matters to me!” he declared in June. Recently, Pakistan, Cambodia, and Israel nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.
The last major war between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh occurred in 2020, lasting 44 days before a ceasefire brokered by Russia. However, Russia’s influence in the region has declined in recent years, opening the door for increased U.S. involvement.
Luke Coffey, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, noted that Trump’s initiative “has gotten these two countries closer to peace than any other statesman or stateswoman since the 1990s.” He added that both Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev were eager for external leadership beyond Russia’s waning influence.
Requests for comment from the Armenian and Azerbaijani embassies in the U.S. were not immediately answered.
