Armenia-Azerbaijan Deal Names New Route for Trump

The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan shook hands at a White House peace summit before signing an agreement aimed at ending decades of conflict. President Trump was in the middle on Friday as Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan flanked him on either side. As the two extended their arms in front of him to shake hands, Trump reached up and clasped his hands around theirs. The two countries in the South Caucasus signed agreements with each other and the US that will reopen key transportation routes while allowing the US to seize on Russia's declining influence in the region, the AP reports. A breakdown:

• The Trump Route: The deal includes an agreement that will create a major transit corridor to be named the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, the White House said. Trump said naming the route after him was "a great honor for me" but "I didn't ask for this." A senior administration official told reporters that it was the Armenians who suggested the name.
• The connection: That route will tie Azerbaijan to its autonomous Nakhchivan exclave; they're separated by a 20-mile-wide patch of Armenian territory. The demand from Azerbaijan had held up peace talks in the past. For Azerbaijan, a major producer of oil and gas, the route also provides a more direct link to Turkey and onward to Europe.

• Their thanks to Trump: Both leaders said the breakthrough was made possible by Trump and his team. "We are laying a foundation to write a better story than the one we had in the past," Pashinyan said, calling the agreement a "significant milestone." Aliyev said, "President Trump in six months did a miracle." Both leaders said they'd support Trump's nomination for a Nobel Peace Prize.
• US deals: Separate from the joint agreement, both Armenia and Azerbaijan signed agreements with the US meant to bolster cooperation in energy, technology and the economy, the White House said.

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• The backstory: Armenia and Azerbaijan were locked in conflict for nearly four decades as they fought for control of the Karabakh region, known internationally as Nagorno-Karabakh. The area was largely populated by Armenians during the Soviet era but is located within Azerbaijan. The two nations battled for control of the region in multiple clashes that left tens of thousands of people dead over the decades, all while international mediation efforts failed. But the prospect of closer ties with the US, as well as being able to move in and out of the landlocked nation more freely without having to access Georgia or Iran, helped entice Armenia on the broader agreement, American officials said.
• Shut out: Iran on Saturday objected to the agreement being reached through "foreign interference," with a presidential spokesman calling Trump's involvement "interesting, offensive and dangerous." The compact also deals a blow to Russia's already-weakened clout in the region, Patrick Wintour writes in an analysis in the Guardian. The Kremlin had always been the mediator in the conflict, per the AP, but that changed after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.