Politics | August 9, 2025 | Washington
On August 8 in Washington, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and U.S. President Donald Trump signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the governments of Azerbaijan and the United States to establish a Strategic Working Group tasked with drafting a Charter on Strategic Partnership between the two nations.
Following the signing ceremony, the two leaders held a cordial conversation, marked by personal praise and symbolic gestures.
President Aliyev hailed the move as “the end of 33 years of sanctions,” crediting President Trump for making it possible. He thanked the U.S. leader for his role in bringing peace “to Asia, Africa, and finally the South Caucasus,” calling the achievement “incredible.”
Trump, in turn, praised the Azerbaijani people as “great” and Aliyev as “a great leader,” noting that the longstanding conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia — which began in 1988 and saw its most intense phase in the early 1990s — had resisted resolution for decades.
The discussion touched on other global peace efforts, with Trump citing his administration’s role in easing tensions between Pakistan and India, as well as Cambodia and Thailand.
In a lighter moment, Trump presented Aliyev with commemorative coins and symbolic keys to the White House — a gesture he said he grants only on rare occasions. Aliyev, mentioning his nine grandchildren, joked about accepting more coins, prompting Trump to call him an excellent negotiator.
The signing of the memorandum marks the formal start of preparations for a comprehensive U.S.–Azerbaijan strategic partnership framework, which officials say will cover areas such as mutual investment, energy, transport, security, and defense cooperation.
