Armenia and Azerbaijan signed an agreement at the White House on 8 August 2025 aimed at advancing the normalization of relations after decades of conflict. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attended the ceremony with the U.S. president in Washington, where the leaders shook hands before the signing.

The accord includes plans for a transit corridor through southern Armenia to link Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan exclave and onward to Turkey. Officials said the route—announced as the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP)—is to be developed and operated by U.S. entities and is expected to carry road and rail traffic, as well as pipelines and fiber-optic infrastructure.

Alongside the joint document, Armenia and Azerbaijan signed separate agreements with the United States covering energy, technology, infrastructure and broader economic cooperation. U.S. officials described the package as part of a wider effort to reopen regional transport links and support economic integration.

The U.S. signaled changes to its role in existing mediation formats, with officials indicating a step back from the OSCE Minsk Group mechanism. Regional media and officials also described U.S. administrative or development rights for the planned corridor.

Initial reactions from neighboring states included warnings from Iran, which expressed opposition to any foreign-controlled corridor near its border and conducted military activities signaling its concerns.

Civil society and diaspora organizations questioned elements of the package, citing issues such as detainee releases, displacement, and cultural heritage protections.

Outstanding matters between Armenia and Azerbaijan include the delimitation and demarcation of the interstate border and arrangements for reciprocal transit, customs and security. Diplomats from both sides have also referenced internal legal steps in Armenia related to constitutional language on Nagorno-Karabakh.

The agreement follows major shifts since 2020. Azerbaijan regained full control of Nagorno-Karabakh after a military operation in September 2023, prompting the exodus of more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians to Armenia and leading to the dissolution of the enclave’s institutions on 1 January 2024.

Connectivity between mainland Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan has been a central point in prior talks, with Armenia previously insisting that any route operate under its sovereignty. The new framework places the corridor within a U.S.-developed scheme while the parties pursue a comprehensive peace treaty.