PanARMENIAN.Net - After 32 years of conflict, the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan have done significant work toward establishing peace, U.S. President Donald Trump said in Washington at the first meeting of the Board of Peace, addressing Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
"I am very grateful to you; you have truly done tremendous work. You are already friends. By the way, when they came to my office, they were standing on opposite sides of the Oval Room, far apart from each other. I suggested they move closer. Understandably, people had been killing each other for 32 years. An hour later, when we signed the agreement, they embraced. Now we have peace between two important countries. I will never forget those moments. You achieved success in a short time; you are quite strong and can be proud of yourselves. Thank you," Trump said, according to Armenpress.
The U.S. president then invited the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to stand, after which those present applauded them and witnessed a handshake between Pashinyan and Aliyev.
Pashinyan also held a brief conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington. He reported this on his Facebook page, publishing a video.
At the opening of the first session of the Board of Peace, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance praised President Donald Trump's leadership and thanked Pashinyan and Aliyev, Panorama.am reported.
"When I think about what happened in Israel on October 7 - the killing of all those innocent people, the hostages, and of course the terrible war that followed - I asked myself how it would ever be possible to safely bring those hostages home, how to create an opportunity for the people of Gaza to have a dignified future, while at the same time ensuring that Israel would never again be attacked. It turned out the answer was one: it required a president fully committed to these efforts and this work, and fortunately we had that under this president's leadership," he said.
He noted that all the leaders gathered in Washington who are investing in the future are investing in peace.
In the same context, he addressed Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and President Ilham Aliyev, emphasizing their role.
"I want to thank the president of Azerbaijan and the prime minister of Armenia, whom I met last week. Thank you for making this possible and for showing what can be achieved through real leadership," Vance said.
On January 16, Donald Trump announced that a Board of Peace would be established to address the situation in the Gaza Strip and invited the leaders of a number of countries, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia and Belarus, to join the initiative.
On January 22, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, at the invitation of U.S. President Donald Trump, participated in Davos as a founding member in the ceremonial signing of the Board's charter.
Later, Washington announced that the newly established council would deal not only with the Gaza issue but also with preventing and resolving conflicts in other regions.
Source: PanArmenian.Net
