Azerbaijan and Armenia signs a peace agreement with American mediation

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed an American peace agreement the day before yesterday, during a meeting with US President Donald Trump that would strengthen bilateral economic relations after a struggle for decades, and pushes them towards full normalization of relations.

The agreement between the two opponents in the southern Caucasus, on the assumption of its steadfastness, will be an important achievement of the Trump administration, and it will certainly raise Moscow’s concern that the region is part of its sphere of influence.

“A long time (35 years) have been fighting and now they are friends, and they will be friends for a long time,” Trump said at the White House signing ceremony, and next to him, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nicole Pashinian.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been in contradiction since the late eighties when the Naguranney region of Kara Bagh defected from Azerbaijan with the support of Armenia. And Nagurani Qara Bagh is a mountainous area in Azerbaijan, the majority of its Armenian population. Azerbaijan regained full control of the region in 2023 in a military attack, prompting all the remaining 100,000 Armenians to flee to Armenia.

Trump said, “The two countries are an obligation to stop fighting, open diplomatic relations, and respect each other’s land.”

The agreement includes exclusive development rights for the United States in a strategic transit corridor across the South Caucasus, the White House said it will facilitate increasing energy exports and other resources.

“The United States has signed separate deals with every country, to expand cooperation in the fields of energy, trade and technology, including artificial intelligence, and the details have not been revealed,” Trump said.

He added that the restrictions imposed on defense cooperation between Azerbaijan and the United States have been raised, a development that may cause Moscow’s concern.

The two leaders praised Trump to help him end the conflict, and they said they would be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

US officials stated that the agreement was reached during repeated visits to the region, and will provide a basis for full normalization between the two countries.

The peace agreement may restore the formation of southern Caucasus, which is an energy -producing area on the borders of Russia, Europe, Turkey and Iran, through which oil and gas pipelines pass through it, but its torn closed borders and ethnic conflicts that have long been existing. Iran welcomed the agreement and described it as an “important step towards a permanent regional peace”, but it warned of any foreign interference near its borders that could “undermine the security and permanent stability of the region.”

In a statement on the X platform, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said, “Tehran is ready to work with both countries through bilateral channels and regional frameworks.”