BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 8. Let’s be honest: Donald Trump has been the punchline of countless jokes for years. Especially in Europe and Russia, where he was written off as a narcissist, a reality show president, someone who couldn’t finish what he started. A guy who liked gold-plated everything but supposedly understood nothing about diplomacy.
Well… guess what just happened.
Today, August 8, 2025, in Washington D.C., the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan—two nations locked in a bitter, often bloody conflict for over 30 years—are signing a peace deal. And the man who got them to the table and actually across the finish line?
Donald J. Trump.
Let’s rewind. Since 1994, the Karabakh conflict has dragged on like a geopolitical zombie, never fully alive, never truly dead. The U.S., the EU, and Russia all claimed to want peace. They created working groups, hosted summits, issued statements, drafted “roadmaps.”
But the truth is, they never seriously tried to solve anything. The conflict was too useful. It gave Washington leverage over Baku. It gave Moscow influence in Yerevan. It gave Brussels something to feel relevant about.
So the peace process became just that: a process. Endlessly delayed, carefully managed, and never meant to succeed.
And then Trump came.
He didn’t show up with a 500-page negotiation manual or lectures about democracy. He came in the way only Trump does: straightforward, transactional, and totally focused on the deal.
Instead of pressure, he offered incentives. Instead of dragging things out, he moved fast. He proposed a plan that benefits everyone economically and gives both sides something tangible in return.
The TRIPP initiative, Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity - is the centerpiece of the deal. It’s not just a corridor linking Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan. It’s a game-changing infrastructure project: railways, pipelines, digital networks. A new artery running through the South Caucasus, designed to bring stability through shared prosperity.
While previous administrations tiptoed around the conflict, afraid of upsetting delicate “balances,” Trump went all in. He treated the region like a business deal: what do you want, what do we want, and how do we all come out ahead?
Armenia gets out of isolation and into the global economy. Azerbaijan gains long-term security and connectivity. The U.S. reclaims strategic ground in a region where Russia and Iran once dominated.
That’s not idealism. That’s execution.
Remember all those smirks in Brussels? The snide takes on Russian state TV? The “experts” on cable news rolling their eyes?
They’re not laughing anymore.
This deal doesn’t just bring peace closer. It exposes how hollow and performative the West’s approach to the conflict has been for decades. Trump didn’t just outmaneuver Russia or Europe. He embarrassed the entire diplomatic establishment. And he did it with the same style the world mocked him for.
You don’t have to like Trump. You don’t have to vote for him. You don’t even have to believe he cares deeply about the Caucasus.
But you can’t ignore the results.
While others talked, he acted. While others drafted memos, he built momentum. While others played power games, he made peace profitable.
In the end, history may remember this moment not just as a breakthrough for Armenia and Azerbaijan, but as a rare case where the guy nobody took seriously turned out to be the only adult in the room.
Emin Aliyev is a political analyst and Editor-in-Chief of Trend News Agency in Azerbaijan. He has covered diplomacy, energy, and regional security in the South Caucasus for over a decade.