South Caucasus opens a new chapter: Azerbaijan’s peace initiatives bear fruit

Azerbaijan and Armenia are set to take another step toward normalizing bilateral relations and signing a peace treaty during talks in Washington. US President Donald Trump has already declared that August 8 will be a historic date not only for Azerbaijan and Armenia — which have been locked in armed conflict for over 30 years — but also for the entire world. The American leader believes that the active role his administration has recently played in negotiations with Baku and Yerevan has yielded results. Trump announced that today, the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia will sign a document that will bring the peace process closer to completion.

It is important to note that such progress would have been impossible without Azerbaijan’s initiatives over the past three years. It was at the initiative of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev that the peace process began, with the proposal of basic principles that later formed the foundation of the agreed peace treaty.

As part of a working visit to the United States, President Aliyev met yesterday with Steve Witkoff, Special Envoy of the US President. The meeting highlighted that Aliyev’s visit to Washington at Trump’s invitation provided an excellent opportunity to discuss the bilateral agenda and regional issues. Discussions also covered the prospects for strategic cooperation between Azerbaijan and the United States, the normalization process between Baku and Yerevan, and the regional peace agenda.

The visit also saw the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation between SOCAR and ExxonMobil. The document was signed by Azerbaijani Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov and ExxonMobil Vice President John Ardill.

Which documents will be signed on Friday evening

According to Report’s information, several significant documents will be signed on Friday evening — both within the framework of the Azerbaijan-Armenia peace process and to deepen Azerbaijan-US bilateral cooperation.

First document: The main highlight will be the signing of an agreement related to the peace treaty, the text of which Azerbaijan and Armenia finalized back in March 2025. This marks another step toward the treaty’s signing.

One of the treaty’s preconditions is the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group. Baku has repeatedly stated that Azerbaijan and Armenia should jointly appeal to the OSCE to disband the group, which failed to deliver results over 30 years. It appears that Trump has managed to persuade Armenia’s prime minister to agree to sign this joint appeal in Washington, thus fulfilling one of the treaty’s requirements.

Another precondition is amending Armenia’s constitution to remove territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Prime Minister Pashinyan and his team have acknowledged the need for a new constitution but have delayed holding a referendum, largely due to political considerations ahead of Armenia’s June 2026 parliamentary elections.

Second document: A Joint Trilateral Declaration is expected, reaffirming the peaceful nature of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. A special clause will address the Zangazur Corridor, establishing a unique regime for this single route as part of the broader unblocking of South Caucasus transport links. This will be a sovereign Armenian decision made with US involvement, ensuring unhindered access and international security guarantees under an Armenia-US agreement.

Third document: Azerbaijan and the United States will sign a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a Strategic Working Group. This framework will cover regional connectivity — including energy, trade, and transit — as well as investment in artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure. It will also address security cooperation, including defense industry sales and counterterrorism efforts.

Finally: A major development in Azerbaijan-US relations will be President Trump’s decision to suspend Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act. This move, the result of successful cooperation between Ilham Aliyev and Donald Trump will end an unjust policy maintained by the previous US administration under Joe Biden and Antony Blinken. The suspension will be in effect for one year, and given that the peace process is nearing completion, a full repeal of Section 907 could be expected in the foreseeable future.

Итак, подписание такого пакета документов, обеспечит исторический успех встречи в Вашингтоне. С одной стороны, он фактически подводит мирный процесс между Азербайджаном и Арменией к логическому завершению, а с другой стороны подписанием двусторонних документов в формате Азербайджан-США и США-Армения открывает новую страницу на Южном Кавказе.

The signing of this package of documents will mark a historic success for the Washington talks — bringing the Azerbaijan-Armenia peace process close to its logical conclusion, while also opening a new chapter in South Caucasus diplomacy through strengthened Azerbaijan-US and US-Armenia ties.

Report's Analytical Group