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Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev are expected to sign a U.S.-brokered peace "roadmap" Friday at the White House, marking a major step toward establishing a long-sought transit route and strengthening both nations' ties with Washington, the White House said.
U.S. President Donald Trump will host the two South Caucasus leaders at what he described as a "Historic Peace Summit," according to an announcement on his Truth Social platform. The summit follows decades of tension and conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, including a war in 2023 during which Azerbaijan reclaimed the territory of Karabakh.
Pashinyan and Aliyev are slated to arrive separately, with Pashinyan scheduled first, followed by Aliyev. Each will hold a bilateral meeting with Trump before convening for a trilateral signing ceremony in the White House State Dining Room.
“The roadmap they are agreeing to will build a cooperative future that benefits both countries, their region of the South Caucasus, and beyond,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told reporters during a conference call. “By locking in this path to peace, we are unlocking the great potential of the South Caucasus region in trade, transit and energy.”
A centerpiece of the agreement is a proposed transit corridor dubbed the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity.” Kelly said the route will be a “multimodal transit area connecting mainland Azerbaijan and its Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, while respecting Armenia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and its people.”
The “Trump Route” replaces previous plans involving the Zangezur Corridor, a proposed connection that had long been a source of tension. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the new plan ends that debate.
“There’s no more talk of a corridor. There isn’t a corridor,” the official said. “How President Trump has elegantly resolved his solution is by introducing the Trump Route for international peace and prosperity.”
Negotiations over the route’s operator are expected to begin next week. A senior administration official said nine potential operators have already expressed interest, including three American firms.
Working groups will be established immediately after the deal is signed to finalize the details of the roadmap over the coming months.
As part of the agreement, the leaders will also sign a joint letter calling on the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to dissolve the Minsk Group, a mediation mechanism co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France that has attempted to resolve the conflict between the two countries for decades.
Pashinyan and Aliyev will also sign separate bilateral agreements with the United States aimed at deepening economic and strategic ties. Kelly said the agreements are intended to “unlock our relationships with each country and the region while benefiting American businesses.”
According to the White House, the bilateral deals will address a range of issues, including energy, technology, infrastructure, border security, economic cooperation and trade.
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