Armenia–Azerbaijan Peace Deal at White House Opens ‘Trump Route’ — Major Win for Turkey

US-brokered agreement ends decades of conflict, establishes a strategic corridor (Zenzegur Corridor) linking Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan and Turkey, boosting Ankara’s role in the South Caucasus.

Historic Deal Ends Nearly Four Decades of Hostility

In a landmark ceremony at the White House on Friday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a peace agreement formally ending almost 40 years of conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Brokered by US President Donald Trump, the deal reopens key transportation routes, deepens bilateral cooperation with Washington, and — crucially — establishes a new transit corridor connecting Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave through Armenian territory.

The corridor, named the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), will operate under Armenian law but grant the United States exclusive development rights. The project envisions rail lines, oil and gas pipelines, and fiber-optic infrastructure, with construction tenders expected to begin next week.

A Strategic Link to Turkey and Beyond

For Azerbaijan — and its close ally Turkey — the TRIPP represents a geopolitical breakthrough.
The route will provide Baku with a direct land connection to Nakhchivan and, via Nakhchivan’s border with Turkey, an unbroken transport line to Europe.

This overcomes a decades-long bottleneck caused by a 32 km stretch of Armenian territory separating Azerbaijan proper from its exclave. For Ankara, it means a new east–west trade and energy artery through the South Caucasus, bolstering its ambitions as a transit hub between Asia and Europe.

“President Trump in six months did a miracle,” Aliyev said at the ceremony. “We have pre-signed the peace agreement in the world’s No. 1 office, with the world’s No. 1 president. There should be no doubt that neither side will step back.”

Aliyev also reiterated his call for Trump to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Turkey’s Position Strengthened

The deal also removes previous restrictions on military cooperation between Azerbaijan and the United States, potentially opening the door to joint defense initiatives that would indirectly benefit Turkey’s regional security architecture.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has been actively engaged in regional diplomacy over the past months, and Ankara is expected to play a central role in the corridor’s economic integration with Turkish and European markets.

International Reaction — Praise and Pushback

World leaders, including UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy and EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa, praised the agreement as a “bold step” toward full normalisation between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

However, Iran strongly opposed the corridor plan. Senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Akbar Velayati, vowed to block the TRIPP project “with or without Russia,” warning it could become “a NATO gateway” near Iran’s northern border. Tehran has historically opposed any route that bypasses its territory.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry offered a more cautious endorsement, saying it supported efforts for regional stability despite losing its long-held role as the primary mediator in the South Caucasus.

From Conflict to Cooperation

The Armenia–Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh dates back to the late Soviet period, with repeated wars and skirmishes killing tens of thousands. Azerbaijan regained full control of the region in 2023, paving the way for direct negotiations that culminated in Friday’s agreement.

“This is a foundation to write a better story than the one we had in the past,” Pashinyan said. Trump, who has made peace deals a hallmark of his presidency, added: “Thirty-five years they fought, and now they’re going to be friends for a long time.”

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