Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry hails historic outcomes of President Aliyev’s US visit

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry has described President Ilham Aliyev’s 7–8 August visit to the United States as historic, citing agreements that advance Baku–Washington ties to the level of strategic partnership and bring the Armenia–Azerbaijan peace process closer to completion.

In a statement released on August 9, the ministry summed up the outcomes of the president’s visit, noting that US and Azerbaijani leaders signed a “Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the United States of America regarding the establishment of a Strategic Working Group to develop a Charter on Strategic Partnership between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the United States of America” to elevate the Azerbaijan-US relations to the level of strategic partnership, Caliber.Az reports. 

According to the Memorandum of Understanding, a Strategic Working Group will be established between the two countries to develop a Charter on Strategic Partnership, within a six-month time period, the ministry informed.

The group will prioritise cooperation in areas including energy, trade, transit, artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, defence, security, and counter-terrorism.

“This has particular significance in terms of establishing an institutional framework for bilateral practical cooperation,” the statement adds. 

The ministry also noted that US President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order extending the waiver of Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act during his meeting with President Aliyev. 

“The waiver of this amendment — a negative legacy in Azerbaijan–US relations — during President Ilham Aliyev’s visit holds profound symbolic significance,” the statement reads.

According to the ministry, the visit also produced major developments in the Armenia–Azerbaijan normalisation process. A trilateral summit involving the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia, and the United States concluded with a Joint Declaration signed by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, with President Trump as a witness.

The ministry noted that the two foreign ministers initialed a Draft Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and Inter-State Relations and signed a joint letter to the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office calling for the closure of the Minsk Process and its related structures.

“The signing of the Joint Declaration in Washington reaffirmed Azerbaijan’s peace agenda. Within the framework of the provision regarding the initialing of the Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and Inter-State Relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia, it was acknowledged that further actions are required to achieve the signing and ratification of the Agreement. In this context, to enable the signing of the Agreement, the Azerbaijani side expects that amendments will be made to the Constitution of Armenia in order to eliminate territorial claims against Azerbaijan,” the ministry statement says. 

The ministry pointed out that another noteworthy provision in the Joint Declaration is the commitment to opening transportation and communication links between the two countries. 

“It emphasizes the necessity of ensuring an unimpeded connectivity between the main part of Azerbaijan and its Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic,” the statement adds. 

It also introduced a US-led plan — the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” — to establish the link via Armenian territory.

During the visit, a Memorandum of Cooperation between SOCAR and ExxonMobil was also signed to expand collaboration and explore new oil and gas opportunities in Azerbaijan.

“The document aims to strengthen the existing positive relations between the companies and explore potential areas of cooperation in evaluating both conventional and unconventional oil and gas opportunities in the Republic of Azerbaijan,” the ministry noted. 

Furthermore, the ministry emphasised that the joint appeal to the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office regarding the closure of the Minsk Process and its related structures marks another important step towards eliminating one of the major obstacles to peace and normalization.

“Overall, the agreements reached during President Ilham Aliyev’s visit to the United States and the outcomes within the Azerbaijan–Armenia normalization process carry historic significance,” the Foreign Ministry finalised.