Witkoff recalls ‘incredible, epic moment’ of Pashinyan, Aliyev handshake at White House

Unlike many other conflicts around the world, in the case of Armenia and Azerbaijan, all the components necessary to reach an agreement were in place, U.S. President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said at a Board of Peace event on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York attended by Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and representatives of the governments of several countries.

“We had the leaders of both sides, Armenia and Azerbaijan, who were incredibly pragmatic, mature and understood that a peace agreement was the best alternative to a long-standing conflict. And most importantly, we had President Trump with his comprehensive support for this process,” Witkoff said.

He also spoke about his first visit to Baku, during which he met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and the head of Azerbaijan’s military intelligence.

“When we came back from our first visit to Baku, where we had met with President Aliyev and his head of military intelligence, Orhan, we told the President about the issues between Armenia and Azerbaijan, about how we felt that the two peoples simply were not interacting properly. Nevertheless, we felt that both leaders were at a point where they wanted to do something. And the President said, ‘Make it a priority,’” Witkoff said.

According to him, the process then turned into effective work as U.S. President Donald Trump began focusing on the issue. Witkoff also recalled the meeting at the White House attended by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

“I remember the meeting in the Oval Office. There were two chairs in front of the fireplace, in front of his [Trump’s] desk. The Prime Minister of Armenia, a lovely gentleman, was there, and the President of Azerbaijan. They were sitting there, and the President [Trump] was in the middle, and he asked both of them to shake hands. He took the Prime Minister’s hand and put it on his hand. He asked President Aliyev to put his hand on top. The U.S. President looked a little like a football coach bringing all the players’ hands together. And he said, ‘And now this will be a team.’ It was an incredible, epic moment. I will never forget it,” Witkoff said.

He again noted that the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, who had been in conflict for decades, were sitting together at that moment with their hands placed on the U.S. President’s hand.

Referring to the TRIPP program, Witkoff said the main focus is now on freight capacity and the speed of access to markets.

“When TRIPP is launched, it will cut two and a half to three weeks off commercial routes. Truly amazing things are happening; the whole world will be connected again,” he said, adding that this could lead to major investments.

Witkoff again highlighted the U.S. President’s role in the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“President Trump was the key link here, because I know that previous leaders have tried to find a way through the complexities and difficult history of Azerbaijan and Armenia.”

He also said that the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan played an important role in the peace process.

“This is his credit, but this is also the courage of the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to come together in Washington on August 8 to sign this important memorandum. This is something I will never forget,” Witkoff added.