Diplomacy

The agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, initialed at the White House in Washington DC on Friday, 8 August 2025 has been published. The preamble of the agreement states: The Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan (hereinafter referred to as the Parties), Recognizing the urgent need to establish a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the region, Seeking to contribute to the achievement of this goal through the establishment of interstate relations, Guided by the Charter of the United Nations, the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States in Accordance with the Charter of the United Nations (1970), the Final Act of the Helsinki Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (1975) and the Almaty Declaration of 21 December 1991, and aiming to develop relations on the basis of the norms and principles enshrined in the aforementioned documents, Expressing their mutual desire to establish good neighborly relations between them, have agreed to establish peace and interstate relations between themselves on the following basis: There follows a 17 article agreement. The website of the Armenian Foreign said that, by mutual consent, the initialed agreement "On the establishment of peace and interstate relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan" is hereby published. You can read the full text.

The meeting of president Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, and prime minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia in the White House on 8 August 2025 has been described many times as being “historic”, and in many ways it was. However the presence and active participation of the president of the United States made it “special”. However, Donald Trump managed to make the event “larger than life”. Trump was on his best behaviour. He was relaxed and happy. He piled profuse compliments on his two guests, and they replied in kind, indulging in flattery that at times was embarrassing. But you can excuse them. Never have two foreign leaders been so warmly welcomed in the White House. The substance was thin: the peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan was initialed but not signed; much of what was included in the Joint Declaration was aspirational, requiring further negotiations. But the symbolism and imagery was powerful. And in this case, it mattered. The world has scrambled to welcome the Armenia-Azerbaijan meeting in Washington. The European Union was first: Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Council president, Antonio Costa, issued a statement within minutes. Various other EU personalities followed on Saturday. There was an important statement by Turkey, followed by UK, Netherlands, Georgia, Saudi Arabia, Poland, UAE, France, Israel, the Central Asian countries and others. Statements were also issued by the UN, NATO, OSCE, Council of Europe, NATO PA and others. The reaction from Russia came late on Saturday and was muffled.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have ended decades of conflict between them, and opened the door for a new era for them, and for the entire South Caucasus. In a historic meeting in Washington DC, facilitated by US President, Donald Trump, the two sides initialed the Peace Agreement between them that has been under discussion for a long time. The agreement still has to be signed and ratified. The two side also issued a joint declaration which was signed by the two leaders, and countersigned by the US president, as witness. The document emphasised the importance of sustainable peace between the two countries. commonspace.eu political editor said in a comment that the Washington meeting took a long time in coming, and many had started wondering if the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan had the political will and stamina to bring peace to the region, but in the end, with a bit of nudging by president Trump they did it. Congratulations to all concerned. In many ways, the work starts now, and Armenian and Azerbaijani societies must be involved and must make their contribution so that the Washington agreements can be successfully implemented .

​ US president Donald Trump has said that Armenia and  Azerbaijan will today sign a peace agreement. "President Aliyev and Prime Minister Pashinyan will join me at the White House for the official signing ceremony of the peace agreement," Trump wrote on the Truth Social social network. The US president said he was looking forward to hosting Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the White House. "These two nations have been at war for a long time, resulting in the deaths of thousands of people. Many leaders have tried to end the war, but to no avail," he said. ​