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Photo: A signed photo gifted by US President Donald Trump (center), from a trilateral meeting featuring Trump, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev (left), and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan (right). Photo: Ilham Aliyev/X.
Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the US have released a joint statement marking the first anniversary of the Washington Summit, where Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and US President Donald Trump met. The summit resulted in the long-awaited initialling, though not signing, of a peace treaty. The anniversary statement, published on Monday, highlights the progress made since the summit toward closing the chapter on more than 30 years of armed conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
“On this first anniversary, there is deep pride in what our countries have achieved together and immense determination to build upon the foundation that ended decades of conflict and set the South Caucasus on a path to a more prosperous future,” the opening remarks read. The statement also notes that Aliyev and Pashinyan jointly nominated [Donald Trump] for the Nobel Peace Prize.
The statement goes on to describe the joint declaration signed at the summit as a “concrete roadmap for Armenia and Azerbaijan, supported by the United States, to strengthen peace, achieve prosperity, and deepen partnership.”
The statement then highlights eight distinct benchmarks of progress toward peace achieved since the summit:
- “Stability” has been maintained along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, with “both sides taking concrete steps to normalize relations, delimit borders, and build trust through measures necessary for lasting peace.”
- The “Trump Route” (also known as TRIPP), connecting Azerbaijan to its exclave of Nakhchivan through Armenian territory, is “moving from vision to reality.” The statement notes that “engineering surveys in Armenia are already underway” and that “Azerbaijan has nearly completed the construction of a highway and railway on its territory to connect with TRIPP in Armenia.”
- In connection with the “Trump Route,” the US has allocated $201 million to the Trans-Caspian Enterprise Fund, which will provide funding for the route.
- The United States has “deepened” its respective bilateral relations with both Armenia and Azerbaijan.
- Azerbaijan has lifted all trade restrictions on Armenia, and since then, “around 60,000 tons of goods have been transported to and from Armenia via Azerbaijan,” while “Azerbaijan has delivered 20,000 tons of petroleum products to Armenia.”
- Telecom operators in Armenia and Azerbaijan signed an agreement aimed at “diversifying regional communication routes, increasing reliability and resilience in the South Caucasus, and supporting infrastructure development in Eurasian telecommunications networks.”
- The OSCE Minsk Group, long the primary mediator between Armenia and Azerbaijan, was dissolved.
- Armenia and Azerbaijan joined Trump’s “Board of Peace”.
“The United States, Armenia, and Azerbaijan reaffirm their unwavering support for the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and jurisdiction of both Armenia and Azerbaijan within their internationally recognized borders,” the statement reads.
In conclusion, the statement notes: “True peace is never achieved in a single day, but as President Trump says, ‘Promises made, promises kept.’ The steps taken by Azerbaijan and Armenia toward lasting peace serve as a model for the entire world, and we look forward to a bright and prosperous future for the region.”