Trump Mediated, Azerbaijan-Armenia Sign Peace Treaty

US President Donald Trump/PHOTO via Instagram @whitehouse

JAKARTA - The White House announced Azerbaijan and Armenia will sign a peace agreement on Friday. US President Donald Trump said he would host leaders of the two countries for the signing ceremony.

"It's not just about Armenia. It's not just about Azerbaijan. It's about the whole region, and they know that the region is known to be safer and more prosperous under President Trump," a senior US government official said.

White House spokesman Anna Kelly said Trump would sign a deal with Armenia and Azerbaijan over energy, technology, economic cooperation, border security, infrastructure and trade.

No further details were given.

President Trump previously stressed the importance for Middle Eastern countries to join the Abrahamic Agreement, which aims to normalize diplomatic relations with Israel. Trump said this could ensure peace in the region.

"Now the nuclear arsenal 'made' by Iran has been completely ruled out, it is imperative to me that all Middle Eastern Countries join the Abrahamic Agreement," Trump wrote in a social media post reported by Reuters, Thursday, August 7.

As part of the Abrahamic Agreement, which was signed during Trump's first term, four Muslim-majority countries agreed to normalize diplomatic relations with Israel after US mediation. Efforts to expand the agreement have been complicated by soaring death toll and hunger in Gaza.

The war on Gaza, which local authorities say killed more than 60,000 people, has sparked global outrage. Canada, France, and Britain have announced plans in recent days to recognize an independent Palestinian state.

The Trump administration is actively discussing with Azerbaijan about the possibility of bringing the country and some of Central Asian allies into the Abrahamic Agreement, in hopes of strengthening their existing ties with Israel, according to five sources familiar with the matter.