Now, US Prez brokers Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement

The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan shook hands at a White House peace summit before signing an agreement aimed at ending decades of conflict.

President Donald Trump was in the middle as Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan flanked him on either side on Friday. As the two extended their arms in front of Trump to shake hands, the US leader reached up and clasped his hands around theirs.

The two countries in the South Caucasus signed agreements with each other and the US that will reopen key transportation routes while allowing the US to seize on Russia’s declining influence in the region.

The deal includes an agreement that will create a major transit corridor to be named the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, the White House said.

Trump has sought to be known as a peacemaker and made no secret of the fact that he covets a Nobel Peace Prize. Friday’s signing adds to a series of peace and economic agreements brokered by the US this year.

Both leaders said the breakthrough was made possible by Trump and his team.

Trump remarked on how long the conflict had been between the two countries. “Thirty-five years they fought, and now they’re friends and they’re going to be friends a long time,” he said.