U.S. President Donald Trump is hosting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the White House this week for a meeting focused on finalizing a peace agreement to end decades of conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.
The two-day meeting, which began Thursday, is expected to conclude Friday with a signing ceremony in the Oval Office and State Dining Room.
The U.S.-brokered framework marks the first formal agreement between Pashinyan and Aliyev. It follows a series of failed negotiations, most recently in Abu Dhabi last month.
Since the late 1980s, the South Caucasus nations of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in conflict, sparked by Nagorno-Karabakh’s separation from Azerbaijan with Armenian backing.
This region, claimed by both countries after the Russian Empire’s collapse in 1917, was home to a majority ethnic Armenian population. In September 2023, Azerbaijan regained control over Nagorno-Karabakh, causing almost all of its approximately 100,000 Armenian inhabitants to flee to Armenia.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the upcoming meeting will also include the signing of bilateral agreements intended to “fully unlock the potential of the South Caucasus region.”
According to a Reuters report, the deal includes granting the United States exclusive special development rights for an extended period on a strategic transit corridor, which will be named the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity.
Officials said the route will be operated under Armenian law, with the United States subleasing the land to a consortium responsible for infrastructure and management.
“I am very proud of these courageous leaders for doing the right thing for the great people of Armenia and Azerbaijan. It will be a historic day for Armenia, Azerbaijan, the United States, and the world,” Trump said.
