Ilham Aliyev welcomed by government officials at Joint Base Andrews, says Azerbaijan's presidency
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has arrived in the US as Washington, DC, gears up to host a trilateral meeting involving US President Donald Trump and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, which could end the two South Caucasus neighbors' over 30-year conflict, his office said on Thursday.
The Azerbaijani presidency confirmed Aliyev's arrival as part of his working visit to the country at Trump's invitation, detailing that he was greeted by government officials at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.
Aliyev’s arrival in the US comes a day after the Armenian premier's press secretary, Nazeli Baghdasaryan, announced on Facebook that Trump will host trilateral peace talks involving Aliyev and Pashinyan in Washington, DC, to “promote peace, prosperity, and economic cooperation in the region.”
She said Pashinyan would visit the US on Aug. 7-8, during which he will also hold a bilateral meeting with Trump.
Baghdasaryan's statement comes after the Washington Post reported that Trump will host the two leaders at the White House on Friday, citing two senior White House officials, and that a peace agreement could be announced as a result of the talks.
Azerbaijan’s president and Armenia’s premier last met in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, last month, during which they discussed efforts to normalize their countries’ relations and agreed to continue negotiations and confidence-building measures.
Relations between the two former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Karabakh — a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan—and seven adjacent regions.
Most of the territory was liberated by Azerbaijan during a 44-day war in the fall of 2020, which ended after a Russian-brokered peace agreement that opened the door to normalization and demarcation talks.
In September 2023, Azerbaijan established full sovereignty in Karabakh after separatist forces in the region surrendered.
This March, the two countries declared that they had reached a consensus on all 17 articles of a peace deal, though the deal has yet to be signed.
In July, Trump said during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office that efforts to reach a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan appear to be moving towards a “successful conclusion.”
