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Nazrin Abdul

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Azerbaijan and Armenia are set to sign a significant agreement in Washington on August 8, marking a critical first step toward a comprehensive peace treaty between the two nations.

Azernews reports that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the development during a press briefing with journalists.

“With regard to the broader peace agenda, the President is fully committed to achieving lasting peace and wants to be remembered as a president of peace. On August 8, we will be here to witness the signing of an agreement that will lay the foundation for a future peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” Rubio stated.

The agreement is expected to be formalized in Washington during a trilateral meeting attended by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and U.S. President Donald Trump. A Joint Declaration will be signed as part of this historic event.

Azerbaijan had previously set two key conditions for signing a peace deal with Armenia. The first required both countries to jointly appeal to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) for the formal dissolution of the Minsk Group. The second demanded constitutional amendments in Armenia to eliminate any territorial claims against Azerbaijan.

The forthcoming Joint Declaration is expected to confirm that Azerbaijan and Armenia will jointly submit a request to the OSCE Secretary-General to formally dissolve the Minsk Group. Additionally, the document will acknowledge the necessity of taking further steps to finalize and ratify the future peace treaty, including constitutional changes in Armenia that would remove anti-Azerbaijani provisions.

Following the 2020 Second Garabagh War, President Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly emphasized the importance of establishing an unhindered land corridor between mainland Azerbaijan and its Nakhchivan exclave. According to the terms of the declaration, Armenia has agreed to this condition as well.

The Joint Declaration explicitly affirms the establishment of unimpeded transit between Azerbaijan’s main territory and Nakhchivan, effectively paving the way for the realization of the long-anticipated Zangazur Corridor.

This agreement represents a milestone in the post-war reconciliation process and could significantly reshape regional dynamics in the South Caucasus.