Conflict: Armenia and Azerbaijan will sign a peace agreement this Friday in Washington, according to Donald Trump

The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan will sign a "historic" peace agreement in Washington this Friday, under the auspices of the United States, to end the territorial conflict that has pitted the two former Soviet republics against each other for decades, US President Donald Trump said.

"Many leaders have tried to end the war, without success, until now, thanks to 'TRUMP,'" Donald Trump trumpeted Thursday evening on his Truth Social network. He specified that a "peace signing ceremony" will be held during this "historic summit" with the participation of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

“Contribute to economic cooperation in the region”

The American president will initially welcome the two leaders separately, and will sign with each a bilateral agreement between the United States and their country, before signing the tripartite agreement at 4:15 p.m. (10:15 p.m. in France).

According to CBS, the text grants the United States development rights for a 43-kilometer corridor in Armenian territory, which will be called the "Trump Pathway for International Peace and Prosperity," or TRIPP. The White House did not respond to questions about this information.

Yerevan confirmed that the Armenian Prime Minister would meet with the US President "to strengthen the strategic partnership between Armenia and the United States." The Armenian government added that a "trilateral meeting [ ... ] with Donald Trump and the Azerbaijani President would also take place to contribute to peace, development, and economic cooperation in the region." The last meeting between Nikol Pashinyan and Ilham Aliyev, on July 10 in Abu Dhabi, did not result in any tangible progress.

Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but was controlled for three decades by Armenian separatists after a war they won following the breakup of the USSR, which caused the exodus of almost all Azeris living there.

Baku partially recaptured this enclave in a new war in the fall of 2020, then completely recaptured it in a lightning offensive in September 2023 , in turn causing the flight of more than 100,000 Armenians from Karabakh.

Eager to move beyond the conflict, Baku and Yerevan agreed in March on the text of a peace treaty, hailed by some as a possible turning point in their relations. But a victorious Baku is demanding that Armenia first amend its constitution to formally renounce any territorial claims to Karabakh, a move that would sever its ties with the region, which Armenians consider their ancestral homeland.

A constitutional referendum in 2027

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has declared himself ready to comply in the interest of lasting peace, announcing his intention to hold a constitutional referendum in 2027. But the trauma of losing Karabakh, known as Artsakh in Armenian, continues to divide his country.

"It is high time that Donald Trump received the Nobel Peace Prize," his spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt, declared on July 31 during her routine press briefing, prompting half-incredulous, half-ironic reactions from the Republican leader's opponents.

She estimated that, since his return to power on January 20, the American president had presided over the conclusion of "one ceasefire or peace agreement per month", giving as examples his mediations between India and Pakistan, Cambodia and Thailand, Egypt and Ethiopia, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Serbia and Kosovo... The list of candidates is not made public by the Norwegian committee which awards the distinction, but Israel, Cambodia and Pakistan recently announced that they had nominated Donald Trump .