Trump Teases Historic Peace Summit Between Warring Christian, Muslim Nations

President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he will oversee a historic peace summit on Friday between the warring nations of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Trump said he will meet with both Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the White House, as the two countries appear ready to bring an end to a decades-long conflict. Armenia, the oldest Christian nation in the world, pushed for peace talks with Muslim-majority Azerbaijan with little success when President Joe Biden was in office.

“These two Nations have been at War for many years, resulting in the deaths of thousands of people. Many Leaders have tried to end the War, with no success, until now, thanks to ‘TRUMP.’ My Administration has been engaged with both sides for quite some time,” the president wrote on Truth Social on Thursday. “Tomorrow, President Aliyev AND Prime Minister Pashinyan will join me at the White House for an official Peace Signing Ceremony. The United States will also sign Bilateral Agreements with both Countries to pursue Economic opportunities together, so we can fully unlock the potential of the South Caucasus Region.”

“I am very proud of these courageous Leaders for doing the right thing for the Great People of Armenia and Azerbaijan,” Trump added. “It will be a Historic Day for Armenia, Azerbaijan, the United States, and, THE WORLD. See you then!”

The peace deal will also include Armenia granting rights to the United States to develop a transit corridor through the South Caucasus that will be named after President Trump, Reuters reported, citing a U.S. official. The South Caucasus is a strategic location for energy and trade routes between the Black and Caspian Seas, acting as the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan has centered on a 1,700-square-mile mountainous region that has been inhabited by Armenians for thousands of years but is inside Azerbaijan’s borders. In recent years, the conflict escalated when Azerbaijan set up a military blockade around Nagorno-Karabakh, cutting off food, electricity, and water for the Armenians living in the region. Azerbaijan then launched a full-scale military offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023, effectively engaging in an ethnic cleansing campaign as Armenians fled the region to seek refuge outside of the area they used to call home.

In 2023, under President Biden, Azerbaijan blasted the United States for taking a “one-sided approach” to the conflict and skipped out on a meeting with Armenia that was set to take place in Washington, D.C. Azerbaijan felt slighted by America’s support for Armenia and accused Armenia of refusing to respond to peace talks. Azerbaijan also said that Armenia was “illegally stationing” more than 10,000 troops in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh began in the 1990s after the fall of the Soviet Union led to Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh petitioning to leave Azerbaijan and unify with Armenia. Azerbaijan refused the petition, and war ensued. Tens of thousands of people were killed in the early years of the conflict, and ethnic minorities in both countries were forced to leave their homes.

After the conflict resumed in 2020 due to border clashes, Russia stepped in to hold the peace and push for the nations to strike a deal. Russia, however, took a step back from its peacekeeping operation in the region when President Vladimir Putin’s forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022. With Russia mostly out of the picture, Azerbaijan moved in to take control of Nagorno-Karabakh.