Aliyev hails peace with Armenia, highlights U.S. ties at UN Assembly

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev told the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday that his country had turned “a long path of tragedy into victory and peace,” hailing the signing of a peace agreement with Armenia last month and new strategic ties with the United States.

Aliyev recalled nearly three decades of Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani territory, which he said forced a million people from their homes. He blamed international inaction and the failure of the OSCE’s Minsk Group for prolonging the conflict until Baku launched a 44-day war in 2020 that restored its territorial integrity.

“Justice prevailed, sovereignty was reinforced, and de facto peace has been achieved,” Aliyev told world leaders.

The president highlighted the Aug. 8 Washington summit, where foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan initialed a peace treaty in the presence of U.S. President Donald Trump. On the same day, he said, both sides declared the closure of the Minsk Group as an “obsolete” format. He also praised Trump for lifting long-standing U.S. sanctions under Section 907 of the

Freedom Support Act.

“These are historic steps opening new horizons in political, economic, and security cooperation,” Aliyev said.

Aliyev promoted the so-called “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” (TRIPP), a regional transport initiative providing access through the Zangezur corridor, which he said would boost connectivity and trade. He added that Azerbaijan has become a leading transit hub, citing a 90% rise in cargo volumes on the Middle Corridor since 2022 and expansion of the

Alat port and Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway.

The president also placed emphasis on energy and climate policy. Azerbaijan, he said, supplies gas to 14 countries, making it “the world’s number one supplier of pipeline gas by number of countries served.” At the same time, he pointed to large-scale investments in solar, wind, and hydropower projects that would lift renewables to 40% of the energy mix by 2030. He warned, however, that the world “cannot live without fossil fuels today or in the foreseeable future,” linking energy security to regional peace.

Aliyev underlined Baku’s role as host of last year’s COP29 climate summit, which produced the “Baku Finance Goal” to triple annual climate finance flows to $300 billion by 2035. He urged Caspian states to act against the sea’s rapid decline, calling the situation “an ecological disaster with unpredictable consequences.”

Turning to post-conflict challenges, Aliyev said more than 400 Azerbaijanis have been killed or wounded by landmines since 2020, and thousands remain missing from earlier fighting. He said reconstruction of liberated territories was underway, with over 50,000 displaced people already resettled under the “Great Return” program.

Azerbaijan, he added, is ready to share its “positive experience” of conflict resolution. “Let us together build a world without double standards, where justice is not selective and peace is achieved not only by words but also by deeds,” Aliyev said.