Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev marked the first anniversary of President Donald Trump’s historic peace breakthrough between Azerbaijan and Armenia on Saturday, crediting Trump with ending three decades of conflict while declaring U.S.-Azerbaijani relations have reached their “highest point” in 34 years of diplomatic ties.
“Through your determination and steadfast resolve, you succeeded in bringing to an end a conflict that had endured for three decades, laying the foundation for an era of reconciliation and mutually beneficial partnership between our peoples,” Aliyev wrote in a letter to Trump marking one year since the August 8, 2025, Washington Peace Summit.
Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan joined Trump at the White House last year for the landmark summit, where the two countries’ foreign ministers initialed the peace agreement and the three leaders signed a joint declaration intended to close the chapter on decades of conflict in the South Caucasus.
Aliyev said Saturday that the agreement has already produced tangible results, pointing to the lifting of restrictions on cargo shipments to Armenia, the start of Azerbaijani petroleum exports to the country, and the movement of grain and other goods through Azerbaijan.
“We are already witnessing the tangible dividends of peace in the economic, trade, and other spheres,” Aliyev wrote. “We continue our efforts to consolidate these gains, translate peace into practical cooperation, and foster an atmosphere of mutual trust.”
Trump and Aliyev also spoke by phone Saturday to commemorate the anniversary, with both leaders noting that peace has held over the past year without incidents undermining the agreement, according to a readout from the Azerbaijani presidency.
The two leaders discussed the growing trade between Azerbaijan and Armenia and progress on the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, or TRIPP, the major transportation corridor envisioned under the Washington agreement to connect mainland Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan exclave through Armenia while opening a broader trade route across the South Caucasus.
Azerbaijan’s transportation infrastructure for the project is nearing completion, according to the readout, while Trump and Aliyev expressed hope that construction on the Armenian portion will begin soon.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio marked the anniversary Saturday by declaring that “President Trump is the President of Peace” and announcing another major step toward transforming the agreement into a broader economic corridor connecting Central Asia and the South Caucasus with Western markets.
“One year ago today, he secured peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan during a monumental meeting at the White House,” Rubio wrote. “Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan and Azerbaijan President Aliyev signed a historic Joint Declaration that marked a historic breakthrough for both nations.”
Rubio announced that the Trans-Caspian Enterprise Fund is now operational with $201 million in U.S. government funding aimed at attracting private-sector investment along the Trans-Caspian Trade Route, also known as the Middle Corridor.
The route would expand east-west trade and transportation links across Central Asia, the Caspian Sea and the South Caucasus, with TRIPP serving as a critical connection in that larger network.
“TRIPP is more than an infrastructure project — it is a vital link in the Trans-Caspian Trade Route, a driver of commercial opportunities for the United States and others, and a model for how economic cooperation can cement peace following the resolution of long-standing disputes,” Rubio said.
The anniversary also underscored the dramatic expansion of Washington’s relationship with Baku since the White House summit.
Aliyev noted that Vice President JD Vance traveled to Azerbaijan six months after the agreement and signed a Strategic Partnership Charter spanning investment, trade, energy, transportation, artificial intelligence and security.
“We can proudly state that Azerbaijan–United States ties have now reached their highest point in the 34-year history of our diplomatic relations,” Aliyev wrote Saturday, thanking Trump for what he called an “invaluable contribution” to strengthening the partnership.
Aliyev also praised Trump’s extension of the waiver of Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, a decades-old restriction on direct U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan that Baku has long sought to have permanently repealed, calling Trump’s move “an important step toward the restoration of historical justice.”
The growing relationship was also reflected in Trump’s invitation for Aliyev to attend the G20 summit in December at Trump National Doral Miami, which the Azerbaijani president described during Saturday’s call as a manifestation of Washington’s “friendly attitude” toward his country.
Pashinyan separately called Aliyev Saturday, with the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders jointly crediting Trump and the United States with advancing the peace process while reviewing the economic ties that have developed between their countries since the Washington summit.
The Armenian prime minister described the peace established over the past year as “visible and tangible,” while acknowledging that additional steps remain before the initialed peace agreement is formally signed and ratified.
Aliyev’s praise of Trump echoed remarks he made last month at the 4th Shusha Global Media Forum in response to a Breitbart News question about what distinguished Trump’s diplomacy from that of previous American administrations.
Aliyev described Trump as “a person who loves peace” and “sees peace as an opportunity,” arguing that previous administrations had spent decades managing and effectively freezing the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict rather than resolving it.
Trump and his team instead understood Azerbaijan’s concerns, helped persuade Armenia that peace was in both countries’ interests, and “created such a framework that peace became possible,” Aliyev told Breitbart News.
“For the first time in my experience, American officials kept their word so strictly,” Aliyev said, crediting Trump’s team, including Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Aryeh Lightstone, with following through on the agreement.
Trump subsequently shared the Breitbart News report on Truth Social, prompting Aliyev to publicly thank the president for amplifying his remarks and reiterate his description of Trump as a “Man of Peace.”
Witkoff returned to that theme Saturday while marking the anniversary.
“A year ago today, @POTUS brought Azerbaijan and Armenia together to sign a historic peace agreement that ended 35 years of brutal conflict,” Witkoff wrote. “Because of this President’s leadership, the South Caucasus is safer, more prosperous, and more stable, and the future is bright for these great countries.”
Aliyev, meanwhile, framed the past year not merely as the end of a longstanding conflict but as the beginning of a fundamentally different relationship between Azerbaijan, Armenia and the United States.
“We remain determined to further expand and enrich with new substance the friendship, strategic partnership, and relations based on mutual trust, respect, and support between Azerbaijan and the United States,” he wrote. “We look forward to continuing our close cooperation with you in this direction.”
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.
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