The United States, Armenia, and Azerbaijan issued a trilateral joint statement Aug. 10 marking the one-year anniversary of the White House Peace Summit that launched the two Caucasus nations’ ongoing peace process.
The statement acknowledges progress in normalizing relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan following the 2023 Azerbaijani military operation that concluded the decades-long Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the State Department said.
The Trump administration has claimed the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace framework as a diplomatic achievement, positioning the United States as a guarantor of the process in a region where Russia has historically dominated as the primary mediator.
The joint statement indicates continued U.S. engagement in the peace process, though a final comprehensive peace agreement between Yerevan and Baku has not yet been signed. Remaining issues include border demarcation, transportation corridors, and the rights of displaced populations.
The Caucasus peace process carries implications beyond the two nations directly involved. Azerbaijan is a significant natural gas supplier to Europe via pipelines that cross the region, and a stable Caucasus corridor could serve as an alternative trade route between Central Asia and European markets.
Armenia and Azerbaijan fought two wars over Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous enclave internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but populated primarily by ethnic Armenians. Azerbaijan’s 2023 military operation resulted in the departure of virtually the entire ethnic Armenian population from the territory.
U.S. diplomatic engagement in the Caucasus reflects broader American interest in maintaining influence in a region bordering Russia, Iran, and Turkey.