By Dr. Shazia Anwer Cheema
The history books will remember August 2025 whenever there will be any chapter about Armenia-Azerbaijan relations.
US President Trump, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan signed a “Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the United States of America for establishing Strategic Working Group for developing Charter on Strategic Partnership between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the United States of America” to elevate the Azerbaijan-U.S. relations to the level of strategic partnership.
This peace agreement will play an important role for Azerbaijan-US future relations as agreement included granting the US exclusive rights to develop the Zangezur corridor
This document testifies the visionary role of President Ilham Aliyev in bringing the three decades-old conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia to a peaceful and mutually beneficial end, especially as it would usher in a new era of prosperity for the Caucuses. The role played by U.S. President Donald Trump in facilitating this historic deal shall be remembered by the history as this document would now bring peace and prosperity to the region and has also laid down strong foundations for Azerbaijan-US future relations. Under the bold leadership of President Ilham Aliyev and his statesmanship, peace had finally been established in this region. The waiver of Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act during the bilateral meeting of two Presidents will end a negative legacy in Azerbaijan-U.S. relations. Signing of the Joint Declaration in Washington reaffirmed Azerbaijan’s peace agenda and it was acknowledged that further actions are required to achieve the signing and ratification of the Agreement. The document also sets forth a special connectivity project to be implemented within Armenian territory: the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity.”
This peace agreement will play an important role for Azerbaijan-US future relations as agreement included granting the US exclusive rights to develop the Zangezur corridor, referred to as the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), aiming to connect the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic to the rest of Azerbaijan without checkpoints through Armenia. 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.
It may be noted that the Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia began in 1988. Azerbaijan regained control over the occupied territory and surrounding regions in 2020 and 2023.
This agreement is historic and a decisive step towards normalization of the region. According to my understanding, this was only possible through the matured and calculated leadership of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who had been focused on establishing peace in the region along with liberating illegally occupied territory of Azerbaijan. He used force only for liberating his lands and took maximum restraint while dealing with regional turbulence.
There were hopes that President Trump would help to solve the Armenia-Azerbaijan issue because he is against wars and winning wars through trade opportunities. He recently averted full-fledged war between India and Pakistan on the request of New Delhi when Pakistan shot down six Indian fighter jets in less than two hours and India could not face the brunt of Pakistan’s response to Indian aggression and reportedly contacted President Trump to find a face saving for India. President Trump announced a ceasefire between India and Pakistan through an X statement that was followed by Pakistan for accepting the situation.
Full text of U.S.-brokered Armenia-Azerbaijan joint declaration is hereunder:
“Joint Declaration by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia on the outcomes of their meeting in Washington D.C., United States of America.
We, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, having met in Washington D.C., United States of America, on August 8, 2025, declare the following:
We and President Donald J. Trump of the United States of America witnessed the initialing of the agreed upon text of the Agreement on Establishment of Peace and Inter-State relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Parties. In this respect, we acknowledged the need to continue further actions to achieve the signing and ultimate ratification of the Agreement, and emphasized the importance of maintaining and strengthening peace between our two countries.
We also witnessed the signing of the joint appeal to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on the closure of OSCE’s Minsk Process and related structures by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan. We call on all OSCE participating States to adopt this decision.
We reaffirmed the importance of the opening of communications between the two countries for intra-state, bilateral, and international transportation for the promotion of peace, stability, and prosperity in the region and in its neighborhood on the basis of respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and jurisdiction of the States. These efforts are to include unimpeded connectivity between the main part of the Republic of Azerbaijan and its Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic through the territory of the Republic of Armenia with reciprocal benefits for international and intra-state connectivity for the Republic of Armenia.
The Republic of Armenia will work with the United States of America and mutually determined third parties, to set forth a framework for the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” (TRIPP) connectivity project in the territory of the Republic of Armenia. We confirm our determination to pursue efforts in good faith to achieve this goal in the most expeditious manner.
We acknowledge the need to chart a course for a bright future not bound by the conflict of the past, consistent with the Charter of the United Nations and the 1991 Almaty Declaration. The conditions have been created for our nations to finally embark on building good neighborly relations on the basis of the inviolability of international borders and the inadmissibility of the use of force for the acquisition of territory after the conflict that brought immense human suffering. This reality, which is not and should never be subject to revision, paves the way for closing the chapter of enmity between our two nations. We resolutely reject and exclude any attempt of revenge, now and in the future.
We express our confidence that this Summit is a strong foundation for mutual respect and the advancement of peace in the region.
We express deep gratitude to President Donald J. Trump of the United States of America for his gracious hospitality in hosting this important summit and for his significant contributions to advancing the normalization of bilateral relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia.
The present Declaration was signed on August 8, 2025, in Washington D.C., United States of America.
Signed by:
H.E. Ilham ALIYEV President of the Republic of Azerbaijan
H.E. Nikol PASHINYAN Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia
Witnessed by: Donald J. Trump President of the United States of America”
Note: The writer is a Doctor of Philosophy in Semiotics and Philosophy of Communication from Charles University Prague. She can be reached at shaziaanwer@yahoo.com
