BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 8. Baku and Yerevan
took another symbolically important step a year after the historic
Washington summit, which marked a turning point in relations
between Azerbaijan and Armenia: the two leaders held a phone
conversation. The very fact that this conversation took place on
the summit's anniversary has significance beyond protocol: the
parties effectively outlined a shared understanding on how to
transfer the achieved peace from a political agreement to a
sustainable system of neighborly, economic, and transport
links.
On August 8, 2025, with the support of U.S. President Donald
Trump, a meeting took place in Washington between the President of
Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinyan, opening a new stage in relations between the two
countries. A year later, the very agenda of the phone conversation
demonstrates how much the regional reality has changed.
The parties discussed the first anniversary of the Washington
Summit and the initialing of the peace agreement, and emphasized
the practical benefits of the new reality, the development of trade
and economic ties, the export of Azerbaijani petroleum products to
Armenia, the transit of goods through Azerbaijan, and the
implementation of the TRIPP route.
This is an important transition from the diplomacy of peace to
the economics of peace. While agreements create a political basis
for ending conflict, trade, transit, infrastructure, and
connectivity transform this basis into everyday reality, making
cooperation more beneficial and a return to confrontation
increasingly unfeasible.
It's in this context that the leaders' phone conversation, a
year after Washington, can be seen as a kind of political
"synchronization of watches." It is no longer about agreeing on the
need for peace, but rather about synchronizing further steps to
solidify it and give it practical substance.
As Peter Marco Tase, Distinguished Research Fellow at the
National University of Pilar (FCAyDR, Paraguay) and Director of the
Azerbaijan-U.S. Economic and Education Council in Wisconsin, noted
in an interview with Trend, the leaders' phone conversation is a true
demonstration of their willingness to establish good-neighborly
relations between the two countries.
Speaking about the significance of last year's meeting in the
White House, the analyst noted that the Washington Declaration was
a huge step towards peace and prosperity for Armenia and
Azerbaijan.
"President Trump's role in this regard is also crucial. August
8, 2025, forever changed the future of the South Caucasus. It's
telling that today's agenda no longer focuses on the conflict
itself, but on how to leverage peace. This is a fundamental shift.
Peace is no longer the endpoint of the negotiation process, but a
platform for developing transport routes, trade, energy ties, and
new economic opportunities.
In this sense, the anniversary of the Washington summit and the
leaders' phone call have broader political implications. A year
ago, the main issue was achieving a historic turning point after
decades of conflict. Today, the question is how consistently Baku
and Yerevan can synchronize their actions and transform this
turning point into a sustainable regional architecture," he
said.
At the same time, the analyst noted, the region is currently
under the influence of extremely intense and unpredictable
geopolitical processes that have direct economic consequences.
Against this backdrop, the peace agreement between Azerbaijan and
Armenia, in his opinion, creates a new foundation for trust and
good-neighborly relations.
Tase specifically emphasized the importance of TRIPP as a key
element of bilateral cooperation. According to him, American
mediation has created a new political environment in which Baku and
Yerevan have the opportunity to build trust and consistently
implement agreements on long-term peace.
The analyst also highlighted the potential for further
cooperation in trade, agriculture, and joint economic projects. He
believes that these areas are enabling the two countries to
gradually transition from a relationship shaped by conflict to one
based on mutual benefit.
"Energy, logistics, and land transport corridors, metallurgy,
and agriculture are among the key areas of regional cooperation,
the development of which Washington is paying close attention to in
its interactions with Baku and Yerevan," Tase added.
Thus, if Washington marked the point at which the parties
established a new political course, then the current contact
between the leaders demonstrates the next stage, coordinating the
pace and direction of progress. In this case, we are not simply
talking about exchanging positions, but rather agreeing on a future
course, in which the peace process develops synchronously and
gradually acquires practical content.
That's why the significance of the current conversation extends
beyond its immediate agenda. A year after Washington, Baku, and
Yerevan are already in a different frame of reference; they are
moving from conflict management to managing the peace process. And
its sustainability will be determined not only by political
statements, but also by how deeply peace permeates trade,
transportation, the economy, and the daily relations between the
two countries.
