Image Credit: Andrew Harnik / Staff / Getty Images 
The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a peace deal at the White House on Friday, bringing to an end decades of bitter conflict between the regional enemies.
The two Caucasian nations signed a deal with each other and the US that will see key transportation routes through the region re-opened.
One such route, dubbed the “Trump Route for International peace and Prosperity,” will link Azerbaijan to its exclave of Nakhchivan, with the US owning development rights for the corridor.
President Trump, who was present at the signing ceremony, said the naming of the corridor was a “great honor for me,” adding “I didn’t ask for this.” A White House source said the Armenians suggested the name.
In separate agreements, both countries also signed cooperation deals to boost partnerships in energy, technology and trade.
The agreements will allow the US to seize on declining Russian influence in the south Caucasus, largely as a result of the war in Ukraine, while also bringing to an end four decades of fighting over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which was populated largely by ethnic Armenians during the Soviet era, but located in Azerbaijan.
Tens of thousands of people died in the long-running conflict, which looked to be unresolvable.
Both nations’ leaders said the historic deal was made possible by President Trump and his team.
“We are laying a foundation to write a better story than the one we had in the past,” Armenian President Nikol Pashinyan said, calling the agreement a “significant milestone”.
“President Trump in six months did a miracle,” Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev added.
“Thirty-five years they fought, and now they’re friends and they’re going to be friends a long time,” President Trump said as he announced the deal.
Separate negotiations over the development of the Trump Route are expected to begin next week. The route is expected to include a rail line, oil and gas infrastructure and fiber-optic cables.
