The minimum you must know

The Republic of Azerbaijan is a predominantly Muslim former Soviet country on the Caspian Sea just south of Russia. Azerbaijan is also geographically central to Armenia, Georgia, Turkey and Iran.

Peace has been illusive with bordering Armenia in a mountainous border region over the past several decades. In particular, the territorial ownership of a Nagorno-Karabakh area became militarily contested twice. There was a major conflict during the 1980s, when three quarters of a million Azerbaijanis reportedly were expelled from Armenia. And there was a second significant incursion in 2020.

Fortunately for people throughout the region, peace developed throughout 2023 and 2024. And a permanent peace agreement was signed at the White House on August 8, 2025 by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and President Donald Trump. A U.S.-administered corridor—named the "Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity" was created as an economic development zone for commercial transit and infrastructure for the area.

President Trump was nominated by the leaders there for a Nobel Peace Prize.