A Peace Deal for Armenia and Azerbaijan,Trump is helping growth and stability there and beyond
Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, left, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Abu Dhabi, July 10. Photo: /Associated Press
Opinion column
A Peace Deal for Armenia and Azerbaijan
Trump is helping growth and stability there and beyond.
By Steve Daines
Wall Street Journal
President Trump is on the cusp of bringing about a peace deal in the
South Caucasus between Armenia and Azerbaijan. This would be a
remarkable achievement—another step toward stability that advances
regional and international peace as well as economic gains that extend
far beyond the countries involved.
Once parts of the Soviet Union, Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked
in a state of low-grade conflict with sporadic bouts of major violence
since the late 1980s. Many attempts at peace have been tenuous or
shortsighted. Prior administrations failed to prioritize the region and
peace negotiations.
The Trump administration has made progress by combining the president’s
peace-through-strength model with pragmatic, creative diplomacy and the
promise of brighter days for both sides.
This year, I traveled to both countries with members of Mr. Trump’s
team. We explored the region’s economic potential and facilitated
conversations on some of the peace talks’ more difficult issues.
I met with both Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and we discussed practical solutions. Both
leaders recognize the moment’s urgency and the profound opportunities
before them.
For too long Russia served as the regional power broker, a position it
used to perpetuate conflict and keep its southern neighbors weak and
isolated. Now, Armenia and Azerbaijan are shedding the yoke of Russian
domination and turning toward an independent vision that aligns with
U.S. priorities.
The region will define its own future, one centered on a partnership
with the U.S. that can lay a foundation for prosperity not only in the
region but far beyond.
The Middle Corridor’s geography affords it unique strategic and economic
importance. Situated between such U.S. adversaries as Iran and Russia,
it is the only sliver of land where trade to the West can flow
unhindered from Central Asia. The five countries that comprise Central
Asia—Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and
Turkmenistan—collectively hold significant oil, natural gas, coal,
uranium and other key resources.
This is in addition to Armenia’s and Azerbaijan’s large deposits of
antimony, copper, gold, chromite, manganese, silver, zinc and other
critical minerals and rare-earth elements. If unimpeded by conflict, the
trans-Anatolian pipeline could increase capacity to carry more of the
region’s energy reserves to Europe such that the Continent would never
again have to rely on Russia for energy. And the South Caucasus’s
mineral deposits could relieve the U.S. reliance on China.
There are also economic and national-security benefits to Armenia and
Azerbaijan to securing peace. Joint investment will bring jobs and
financial stability.
The Trump administration’s resolve has helped create a historic
opportunity for these two nations. This pending agreement will alter the
course of geopolitics in a way that benefits not only the South Caucasus
and Central Asia but the U.S. and our allies for decades to come.
For the sake of peace and stability in the region and the world,
Armenia’s and Azerbaijan’s leaders should finalize it without delay.
Steve Daines, a Republican, is a U.S. senator from Montana.
