Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev jointly nominated U.S. President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize on Saturday. Both countries signed a landmark peace agreement at the White House.
The long-standing rivals, sitting along with President Donald Trump, announced the peace agreement at the White House. The decision to announce the nomination of U.S. President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize came after signing the historic agreement.
Speaking at the White House signing event on Friday, both leaders credited Trump’s mediation for ending decades of conflict and called on the noble community to recognize the efforts of President Donald Trump in solving the crisis.
Aliyev asked, “Who, if not President Trump, deserves a Nobel Peace Prize?” while Pashinyan described Trump as the “peacemaker” behind the “breakthrough” and said the US president “deserved the Nobel.”
The agreement commits Armenia and Azerbaijan to stop all fighting forever, open up commerce, travel, and diplomatic relations, and respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The two leaders shook hands at the White House before signing a joint declaration that the White House described as historic.
Aliyev hailed the historic signature between countries that were at war for more than three decades and said, We are today establishing peace in the Caucasus. The deal includes the creation of a transit corridor through Armenia, connecting Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave.
The United States would hold development rights for this strategically important route, dubbed the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity. Trump expressed confidence that the two nations would have great relations, adding, but if there is conflict, they are going to call me, and we are going to get it straightened out.
Read more: Trump to secure key transit route with Armenia-Azerbaijan deal
Christian-majority Armenia and Muslim-majority Azerbaijan have fought two wars over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, which Azerbaijan recaptured in a 2023 offensive that triggered the exodus of more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians.
Pashinyan said the deal will pave the way to end decades of conflict between our countries and open a new era, crediting Trump’s role as indispensable. The White House also described the U.S. as an enormous strategic commercial partner for Armenia and said the agreement was a setback for China, Russia, and Iran. While some details of the deal are not clear, however, the joint backing of Trump by both leaders for the Nobel Peace Prize marks a rare international consensus on the U.S. President’s role.