White House Preparing New Meeting Between Trump and Leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan

On August 8, U.S. President Donald Trump will host Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the White House. News of the upcoming meeting was first reported by *The Washington Post*, citing sources, and was subsequently confirmed by the Armenian government.

According to Yerevan, Pashinyan’s visit to the U.S. is scheduled for August 7–8. The Armenian prime minister will first hold separate talks with Trump focused on developing the strategic partnership between Armenia and the United States. A trilateral meeting involving Aliyev will follow.

These upcoming talks will mark the second meeting of the three leaders in this format. The first took place exactly a year ago—on August 8, 2025—also at the White House. At that time, the participants signed a joint trilateral declaration affirming their intention to facilitate a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, foster economic cooperation, and strengthen stability in the South Caucasus.

The Armenian government stated that the new talks would focus on peace, economic cooperation, and stability in the South Caucasus. Meanwhile, according to *The Washington Post*, the Trump administration hopes to act as a mediator in securing a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Sources cited by the publication do not rule out the possibility that agreements could be announced following the Washington meeting.

This will be the first in-person meeting between the two countries' leaders since their talks in Abu Dhabi on July 10, which lasted more than four hours. At that time, the parties reaffirmed their readiness to continue direct dialogue without intermediaries, though no peace treaty was announced.

Despite statements suggesting an agreement is close, fundamental disagreements persist between Yerevan and Baku. One of the key points of contention is the transport link between the main territory of Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan via Armenian territory. Baku insists on a special operating regime for this route, whereas Yerevan maintains that any roads must remain under Armenia's sovereignty and jurisdiction. In July, the US proposed its own option for involvement in organizing the route; however, Armenian authorities emphasized that they would discuss such initiatives only if the principles of territorial integrity and state sovereignty were upheld.

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