The leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia signed an agreement aimed at ending decades of conflict as they were hosted by President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday. Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan shook hands after the US president described the event as "historic." "It's been a long time coming," Trump said of the agreement, which will reopen some key transport routes between the countries and increase US influence in the region. Azerbaijan and Armenia have been fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnically Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan. They fought a war over the enclave in the 1980s and 1990s and violence has flared up in the years since.

On Friday, Trump said Armenia and Azerbaijan had promised to stop all fighting "forever" as well as open up travel, business, and diplomatic relations. "We are today establishing peace in the Caucasus," Aliyev said. "We lost a lot of years being preoccupied with wars and occupation and bloodshed." Pashinyan called the signing a "significant milestone" in relations between the two countries. "Thirty-five years they fought, and now they're friends and they're going to be friends a long time," Trump said at the event.

As part of the deal, the White House announced that the US will assist in constructing a major transit corridor, designated as the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity. This route will connect Azerbaijan and its autonomous Nakhchivan exclave, which are separated by Armenian territory. Aliyev has historically insisted on a railroad corridor to Nakhichevan, while Armenia has sought control over the route. Disagreement on this issue has obstructed previous negotiations for peace.

Both leaders expressed their gratitude toward Trump and his team during the meeting, with Aliyev stating, "President Trump in six months did a miracle." Additionally, Trump revealed that he signed a bilateral agreement with both nations to enhance energy and technology trade.

This summit underscored a strategic shift, with the US seeking to bolster its influence in the region, challenging Russia's long-standing role as a power broker. Historically, the Kremlin has mediated the conflict, with President Vladimir Putin recently acting as the primary mediator. The current agreement heralds a distinct departure from previous proposals backed by Moscow, reflecting a stronger American intervention. Notably, this announcement precedes Trump's scheduled meeting with Putin in Alaska next week, indicating a significant diplomatic shift in the region.

Armenians fear another war despite talk of peace.