«Aliyev is Determined, Pashinyan is Bold»: Whitcoff Shares Details on Armenia-Azerbaijan Deal

Different generations of diplomats have considered the fierce conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the years to be unsolvable, but the situation changed drastically when Donald Trump returned to the presidency of the United States. This was stated by U.S. Special Representative Steve Whitcoff in his article published in the Washington Examiner.

“Thanks to the President's bold and visionary leadership, today marks the one-year anniversary of the signing of the joint declaration of peace between these two countries, which ended more than 35 years of bloodshed. This is truly an exceptional achievement,” noted Whitcoff.

The U.S. envoy recounted how the process of achieving peace unfolded:

Negotiations began (March 2025): The American team’s involvement started with a visit to Baku in March 2025. According to Whitcoff, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has demonstrated himself as a strong and decisive leader, willing to take difficult but necessary steps to achieve peace.

The meeting in Armenia: Similarly, in Armenia, the American side discovered a pragmatic and bold leader in Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who is capable of making sometimes unpopular but the best decisions that benefit his people.

New solutions on the road to Nakhchivan and the TRIPP concept: After five months of intense negotiations in Baku and Yerevan, it became clear that the issue needed a new approach. The issue of unobstructed connections from Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan had long been viewed as a deadlock in territorial disputes. Under Trump’s leadership, the TRIPP concept was developed: this is a United States and Armenia partnership aimed at creating unobstructed multimodal transport routes across Armenia, fully respecting Armenia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Global model: According to Whitcoff, the TRIPP concept is now recognized worldwide as an exemplary model for resolving seemingly intractable disputes through mutual benefit rather than endless negotiations. It is expected that it will pass through the Caspian Sea and also develop in the Middle East.

“The South Caucasus is safer and more stable today because Trump, Aliyev, and Pashinyan chose results, not rhetoric,” concluded the U.S. Special Representative.