Washington breakthrough: Ilham Aliyev opens a new page for the South Caucasus

On Friday, an unprecedented event took place in Washington: President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, in the presence of US President Donald Trump, took another step forward to complete the peace process between Baku and Yerevan.

In addition, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed separate documents with the United States, which indicates the opening of a new page in relations with the South Caucasian countries.

What documents were signed

Joint Declaration: Aliyev, Trump, and Pashinyan signed a Joint Trilateral Declaration following their trilateral meeting. The signing of the Joint Declaration confirmed the peace agenda initiated by Azerbaijan.

The declaration includes a separate point dedicated to opening transport communications and ensuring unhindered connection between the main territory of Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. It also states that a special project will be implemented in Armenia - "Trump's Route for International Peace and Prosperity," which provides for US support in ensuring the specified transport connection.

President Ilham Aliyev, commenting on this document, stated that Trump managed to end conflicts in Asia, Africa, and now in the South Caucasus in just a few months. "What we could not achieve for more than 30 years – we were forced to make sacrifices, endure two very difficult wars with enormous losses, and if it were not for President Trump and his team, as well as our close friend Mr. Witkoff and his team, probably today Armenia and Azerbaijan would again be bogged down in an endless negotiation process," said the Azerbaijani leader.

According to him, this document establishes peace in the South Caucasus, which will open up enormous opportunities not only for our region, and "Trump's Route of Prosperity and Peace" will remove barriers in relations, open opportunities for many countries, providing investment, prosperity, and stability.

Donald Trump, for his part, noted that Armenia and Azerbaijan had been at war for 35 years: "This conflict caused enormous damage to both states, and they were looking for a way out. At the same time, the European Union and Russians were working seriously in this direction. But it didn't work out. Joe Biden, who walked around sleepy all day, also tried but couldn't, it didn't work out. Other teams, other states also tried to resolve the conflict. But it didn't work out. This time, we, as the United States, signed a whole series of documents that will become an integral part of this agreement."

The American president believes that now Armenia and Azerbaijan will act with the condition of resuming trade and restoring diplomatic relations. "The declaration also notes that – and this is really a great honor for me – it is the 'Trump route,' the route of prosperity and peace, that will provide Azerbaijan with full access to the territory of Nakhchivan, while respecting Armenia's sovereignty. They will achieve this through the 'Trump International Route of Prosperity and Peace.' At the same time, Armenia is also signing an exclusive cooperation agreement with the United States to develop this corridor. They promise to cooperate for 99 years, and then extend this cooperation. And American companies intend to carry out major infrastructure work in this territory. They will spend a lot of money there, which will certainly