The leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a U.S.-brokered peace agreement Friday at the White House, formally ending decades of conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan joined U.S. President Donald Trump for the signing ceremony.

“For more than 35 years, Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought a bitter conflict that resulted in tremendous suffering for both nations,” Trump said. “They suffered gravely for so many years.”

The deal seeks to establish lasting peace in the South Caucasus, where the neighbors have fought multiple wars since the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991.

“We are today establishing peace in the Caucasus,” Aliyev said. “We lost a lot of years being preoccupied with wars and occupation and bloodshed.” 

“President Trump, in six months, did a miracle,” he added.

Armenia’s Pashinyan called the agreement “a success for the world, because a more peaceful region means a safer world.”

The New York Times reported the pact includes an initiative called the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity.” It grants U.S. firms exclusive rights to build roads, bridges and other infrastructure in a 27-mile corridor within the two countries.

Azerbaijan, a majority Shia Muslim nation, and Armenia, with an Eastern Orthodox Christian majority, have long disputed Nagorno-Karabakh. The mountainous region is recognized as part of Azerbaijan but was historically home to many ethnic Armenians.

Their most recent fighting ended in September 2023, when Azerbaijani forces launched a one-day offensive and regained full control of the territory.