Armenia–Azerbaijan peace agreement

Armenia–Azerbaijan peace deal
Left to right: President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, US president Donald Trump, and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia signing a trilateral joint declaration
Signed8 August 2025 (2025-08-08) (initialed)
LocationWhite House, Washington, DC, United States
Mediators
Negotiators
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LanguageEnglish
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The Armenia–Azerbaijan peace agreement aims to end the ongoing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. On 8 August 2025, Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev, with the mediation of United States president Donald Trump, initialed an agreement and signed a joint declaration emphasizing the need to continue efforts toward the signing and final ratification of the agreement.

Part of the agreement included granting the US exclusive rights to develop the Zangezur corridor, which the US government has called the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), for the next 99 years, aiming to connect the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic to the rest of Azerbaijan without checkpoints through Armenia. Currently, due to the ongoing Turkish–Azeri blockade against Armenia, direct transit through the region is hampered.

In addition to the immediate goal, the completion of the corridor would allow the passage of people and goods from Europe to Azerbaijan and the broader Central Asia without needing to travel through Russia or Iran. Iran and Russia have condemned the role of the United States in the proposed Zangezur corridor as an encroachment.[1][2]

Background

Main article: Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

The Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia began in 1988. Azerbaijan regained control over the disputed territory and surrounding regions in 2020 and 2023.[3][4][5]

In October 2022, the European Union announced a civilian mission to Armenia to assist with border delimitation between Armenia and Azerbaijan. This mission aimed to support peaceful negotiations, provide technical help in marking the borders, and promote stability in the region amid renewed tensions.[6]

On 13 March 2025, it was announced that both parties had agreed on all terms of the peace agreement.[7] The announcement was described as "historic" by US secretary of state Marco Rubio, while European Union High Representative Kaja Kallas referred to it as "a decisive step."[8]

According to political analyst Thomas de Waal, the progress towards the agreement is largely attributed to Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan, who has made a series of concessions in an effort to reach a deal. De Waal also noted that Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev rarely emphasizes the benefits of peace, and continues to use the conflict with Armenia as a means to consolidate his leadership within the country.[8]

US-brokered peace deal

In August 2025, the United States hosted the signing ceremony for a strategic transit corridor agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan at the White House. The event was attended by US president Donald Trump, Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan, and Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev.[9] This agreement marked a key breakthrough in the peace process.[10]

Armenia agreed to award the US exclusive special development rights in the Zangezur corridor land for 99 years. The US would sublease the land to a consortium that will develop rail, oil, gas, and fiber optic lines, as well as possibly electricity transmission, along the 43-kilometre (27 mi) corridor. The US Government is using the term Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) to describe the corridor.[11][12]

Geopolitical significance

A US official told Axios that the main goal of the United States in this development project is to reduce the influence of Iran, Russia, and China in the South Caucasus region. The corridor would allow people and goods to travel between Turkey and Azerbaijan and beyond to Central Asia without passing through Iran or Russia.[13]

The corridor will connect Azerbaijan with its exclave, Nakhchivan, which is separated by 32 kilometres (20 mi). This link would strengthen Azerbaijan's ties with Turkey by providing a direct route. To respect Armenian sovereignty, the corridor would be governed under Armenian law.[5]

In the meantime, Iran threatened to block the planned corridor, citing security concerns, despite earlier welcoming the broader peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan.[14]

Reactions

Iran and Russia have condemned the role of the United States in the proposed Zangezur corridor as an encroachment.[1][2]

Aram Hamparian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America, stated that "normalizing ethnic cleansing is not peace" and considered the agreement to be predicated on the erasure of Nagorno-Karabakh, the abandonment of holy sites, the neglect of hostages, and the entrenchment of Azeribaijani occupation.[15]

References

  1. ^ a b "Moscow and Tehran Working to Block U.S. Involvement in Zangezur Corridor". Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  2. ^ a b Mirovalev, Mansur. "Does a Trump-brokered deal squeeze Russia, Iran out of the South Caucasus?". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  3. ^ "Doc. 7182: Report on the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh". Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. 17 October 1994.
  4. ^ "Armenia and Azerbaijan: A blockade that never ended and a peace deal hanging by a thread". Global Voices. 19 July 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Azerbaijan and Armenia sign peace agreement after decades of conflict". euronews. 8 August 2025. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
  6. ^ "EU to send 'civilian mission' to Armenia to help mark borders with Azerbaijan". France 24. 7 October 2022. Archived from the original on 9 August 2025. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
  7. ^ Light, Felix; Bagirova, Nailia (14 March 2025). "Armenia and Azerbaijan agree treaty terms to end almost 40 years of conflict". Reuters. Retrieved 21 March 2025.
  8. ^ a b "Armenia and Azerbaijan's Major Step Forward". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 17 March 2025. Retrieved 21 March 2025.
  9. ^ "Announcement on White House website: President Trump Brokers Another Historic Peace Deal". The White House. 8 August 2025.
  10. ^ Holland, Steve (7 August 2025). "U.S. secures strategic transit corridor in Armenia–Azerbaijan peace deal". Reuters.
  11. ^ Schwartz, Felicia; Bazail-Eimil, Eric (7 August 2025). "US brokers a deal between long-hostile Armenia and Azerbaijan". Politico. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  12. ^ "Trump brokers potentially game-changing deal with Armenia, Azerbaijan". eurasianet.org. 8 August 2025.
  13. ^ Lawler, Dave; Ravid, Barak (7 August 2025). "Trump to oversee Armenia–Azerbaijan peace accord on Friday". Axios. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  14. ^ Hafezi, Parisa; Osborn, Andrew (9 August 2025). "Iran threatens planned Trump corridor envisaged by Azerbaijan–Armenia peace deal". Reuters.
  15. ^ Tharoor, Ishaan (8 August 2025). "Before Gaza's woe, there was Nagorno-Karabakh". The Washington Post. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
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