By Ginika Igboke
President Donald Trump announced Friday that Vice President JD Vance will travel to Azerbaijan and Armenia next month as part of U.S. efforts to reinforce a peace agreement the two nations signed in Washington last August, ending decades of conflict between the longtime rivals.
According to Trump, the visit is aimed at deepening U.S. engagement in the South Caucasus and expanding cooperation in areas including nuclear energy, semiconductor manufacturing, and defense. The president shared the announcement in a post on his Truth Social platform, emphasizing both the diplomatic and economic dimensions of the upcoming trip.
“I want to thank President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia for upholding the Peace Agreement we signed last August,” Trump wrote. He described the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict as one of several wars he claims to have helped end and said the region is now positioned for “prosperity and peace.”
Trump added that Vice President Vance’s February visit will build on those efforts by strengthening strategic ties with Azerbaijan, advancing a peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement with Armenia, securing deals that benefit U.S. semiconductor manufacturers, and expanding the sale of American-made defense equipment to Azerbaijan, including body armor and naval vessels.
The announcement follows the formal end of nearly four decades of hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. The August agreement, brokered by the Trump administration, required both countries to renounce territorial claims, cease the use of force, and adhere to international legal standards.
Since the agreement was signed, both nations have taken steps to increase cooperation under the U.S.-supported framework. Armenia has previously indicated it would link its energy grid with Azerbaijan’s to enable cross-border electricity trading, a move seen as a confidence-building measure and a sign of growing regional integration.
While specific details of Vice President Vance’s itinerary have not yet been released, the visit is expected to focus on solidifying political ties and advancing the economic and security initiatives outlined by the president.
Trump has repeatedly highlighted the Armenia-Azerbaijan agreement as a key achievement of his foreign policy, saying in August 2025 that he had helped end six global conflicts within his first six months in office, including the long-running Caucasus dispute. He later stated that leaders from Armenia and Azerbaijan, along with officials from Pakistan, Israel, and Cambodia, had nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize, according to remarks he delivered at the United Nations in September.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict began in 1988 and escalated into wars in the 1990s and again in 2020. Tens of thousands of people were killed, and large numbers of ethnic Armenians fled the region following Azerbaijan’s 2023 military offensive.
Trump has presented the peace deal as a template for his “America First” approach to diplomacy, combining conflict resolution with economic and strategic gains for the United States. Azerbaijan, rich in oil and natural gas, has emerged as a key energy supplier to Europe amid the war in Ukraine, while Armenia—historically aligned with Russia—has moved closer to Washington through nuclear cooperation agreements. Azerbaijan has also approved purchases of U.S.-made defense equipment, further expanding bilateral ties.
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