Armenians deserve more than a transactional peace deal with Azerbaijan

Trump’s incomplete deal with the two countries carries only a slim hope of resolution for a deep-rooted conflict

- JIRAIR RATEVOSIAN GUEST CONTRIBUTOR

PRESIDENT TRUMP, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, left, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during the trilateral peace signing ceremony at the White House.

ON AUG. 8, As the White House hosted the trilateral signing of a peace agreement between Armenia, Azerbaijan and the United States, I spoke to a group of Armenian high school students from Los Angeles. We paused to watch the news conference on a laptop in the corner of our crowded room. Their faces curious, cautious and skeptical-mirrored a sentiment across the Armenian diaspora: hope tempered by doubt, pride shadowed by mistrust.

This conflict's roots run deep. After the Soviet Union collapsed, Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a brutal war over a region within Azerbaijan's borders but claimed by both nations. Azerbaijanis call it Nagorno-Karabakh; Armenians call it Artsakh. A ceasefire held for years but left core disputes unresolved over territory, governance and the right of self-determination for the region's Armenian population.

War erupted again in 2020. Backed by Turkey and armed with advanced weapons, Azerbaijan gained control of much of the disputed territory. The Trump administration did nothing to meaningfully intervene. For Armenians, it was a devastating loss of land, security, trust and cultural heritage. For Azerbaijan, it was a political and military victory that shifted the balance of power.

In December 2022, Azerbaijan launched a blockade of the Lachin corridor the only road linking Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh to Armenia-tightening its grip on a region already reeling from war. For the next 10 months, gas, electricity, internet, food and medicine were cut off to 120,000 Armenians, many of them children and elderly. Families rationed bread. Surgeries were postponed. Schools closed.