"They have fought for 35 years, and now they are friends, and will be friends for a long time," President Donald Trump said at a signing ceremony at the White House attended by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenia Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
The peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia will boost bilateral economic relations after decades of conflict and aim for the complete normalization of relations.
Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan have been tense since the late 1980s over Nagorno - Karabakh. This is a mountainous area of Azerbaijan where the majority of its population is Armenia. Nagorno - Karabakh has announced its separation from Azerbaijan with the support of Armenia.
Azerbaijan regained control of the Nagorno - Karabakh region in 2023, forcing almost all of the 100,000 Azerbaijanis in the territory to join the Armenia.
President Donald Trump said that the two countries have pledged to end the conflict, expand diplomatic relations and respect each other's territorial integrity.
The White House-signed agreement also includes the right to develop a US monopoly over the strategic transport corridor through the South Caucus. According to the White House, this corridor will create more favorable conditions for the export of energy and other resources.
The South Caucus is an energy-producing region bordering Russia, Europe, Turkey and Iran, which has a dense network of oil and gas pipelines but is cut off by border closures and prolonged ethnic conflicts.
The US also signed separate agreements with each country to expand cooperation in energy, trade and technology, including artificial intelligence.
Details of the agreements between the US and Azerbaijan and between the US and Armenia were not disclosed.
President Trump also said that restrictions on defense cooperation between Azerbaijan and the US have also been lifted.
Both Azerbaijan and Armenia leaders praised President Trump for helping end the conflict and said they would nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize.
