US president Donald Trump announced he will host the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan on Friday for what he called a “Historic Peace Summit” aimed at ending decades of hostilities between the two former Soviet republics.

Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan and president Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan “will join me at the White House for an official Peace Signing Ceremony,” Trump posted Thursday on his Truth Social platform.

Sworn enemies for decades, the two went to war twice over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, which Azerbaijan recaptured from Armenian forces in a lightning 2023 offensive, sparking the exodus of more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians.

The two countries have held talks aimed at securing a peaceful resolution, including last month in the United Arab Emirates, but a breakthrough had proved elusive.

“These two Nations have been at War for many years, resulting in the deaths of thousands of people,” Trump wrote.

“Many Leaders have tried to end the War, with no success, until now, thanks to ‘TRUMP.’ My Administration has been engaged with both sides for quite some time,” he added, saying he was “very proud of these courageous Leaders for doing the right thing.”

The US leader, who has expressed conviction that his mediation efforts in various international conflicts deserve the Nobel Peace Prize, added that Washington will sign bilateral deals “with both Countries to pursue Economic opportunities together” that could unlock potential in the South Caucasus region.

The prospective agreement could put an end to decades of conflict and set the stage for a reopening of key transportation corridors across the South Caucasus that have been shut since the early 1990s.

The agreement, according to officials speaking to the Associated Press, would give the US leasing rights to develop the corridor and name it the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity.

It would link Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan region, which is separated from the rest of the country by a 32km (20-mile) patch of Armenia’s territory.

The transit corridor is expected to eventually include a rail line, oil and gas lines, and fibre optic lines, allowing for the movement of goods and eventually people. The deal does not call for the US to pay for the construction of the transit corridor, but instead for private corporations to develop it.

The deal was reached after a visit earlier this year by Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff to Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku and continued talks between the parties.

Armenia and Azerbaijan faced off for nearly four decades of fighting for control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region. During the Soviet era, the mostly Armenian-populated region had an autonomous status within Azerbaijan. Long-simmering tensions between Christian Armenians and mostly Muslim Azerbaijanis boiled over as the Soviet Union frayed.

With Agence-France Presse and Associated Press