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WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump will host the leaders of sworn enemies Armenia and Azerbaijan on Friday, touting the prospect of sealing a long-sought peace deal between the two regional rivals after decades of conflict.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev will attend a “Peace Signing Ceremony” at the White House, Trump posted Thursday on his Truth Social platform.
The latest US diplomatic push comes a day after Cambodia’s prime minister announced he had nominated Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize.
Trump has repeatedly praised his own diplomatic efforts, saying he deserves the prize, while also voicing frustration about the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and the hunger plaguing Gaza during Israel’s offensive.
Peace has also been elusive for Armenia and Azerbaijan. Sworn enemies for decades, the two former Soviet republics went to war twice over the disputed Karabakh region, which Azerbaijan recaptured from Armenian forces in a lightning 2023 offensive, sparking the exodus of more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians.
The two countries have held talks aimed at securing a peaceful resolution, including last month in the United Arab Emirates, but a breakthrough has proved elusive.
“These two Nations have been at War for many years, resulting in the deaths of thousands of people,” Trump wrote.
“Many Leaders have tried to end the War, with no success, until now, thanks to ‘TRUMP.’ My Administration has been engaged with both sides for quite some time,” he added, saying he was “very proud of these courageous Leaders for doing the right thing.”
Friday “will be a Historic Day for Armenia, Azerbaijan, the United States, and, THE WORLD,” Trump said.
Trump, a billionaire business tycoon, also said that Washington will sign bilateral deals with both countries “to pursue Economic opportunities together, so we can fully unlock the potential of the South Caucasus Region.”
One major agreement was already inked in Washington on Thursday, when Aliyev and Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff were present for a memorandum of cooperation signed between ExxonMobil and Azerbaijan’s state energy company SOCAR.
Aliyev and Witkoff then sat down for talks, the Azerbaijan president posted on X.
The former Soviet republics had agreed on the text of a comprehensive peace deal in March.
But Azerbaijan has since outlined a host of demands — including amendments to Armenia’s constitution to drop territorial claims for Karabakh — before signing the document.
It was not immediately clear Thursday whether those demands have been met. And while Trump said his administration “has been engaged with both sides for quite some time,” he did not provide specifics on the document that will be signed by representatives of the two countries.
In early July, Pashinyan and Aliyev met for the latest round of peace talks in the United Arab Emirates, but they failed to yield a breakthrough.
The two foes had previously met on the sidelines of the European Political Community summit in Albania in May.
At the time, French President Emmanuel Macron and European Council President Antonio Costa called for a prompt signature of a peace agreement between the two countries.
A deal to normalize ties would be a major breakthrough in a region where Russia, the European Union, the United States and Turkiye all jostle for influence.

SYDNEY: Australia’s recently convicted mushroom murderer also tried to poison her husband with a chicken korma curry, according to accusations aired Friday after a suppression order lapsed.

Home cook Erin Patterson was found guilty in July of murdering her husband’s parents and elderly aunt in 2023 by lacing their beef Wellington lunch with lethal death cap mushrooms.

A series of potentially damning allegations about Patterson’s behavior in the lead-up to the meal were withheld from the jury to give the mother-of-two a fair trial.

Supreme Court Justice Christopher Beale on Friday rejected an application to keep these allegations suppressed.

Patterson tried to kill her estranged husband Simon on three occasions between 2021 and 2022, police alleged in one of the major claims not heard during the trial.

She was accused of serving him poisoned dishes of pasta bolognese, chicken curry and a vegetable wrap, according to freshly released evidence.

Simon told a pre-trial hearing in October last year how Patterson had asked him to taste test a batch of curries she had made.

“I remember Erin saying that the purpose of the taste test was so she could, I guess, customise future curry production for our respective tastes,” he said.

He later fell ill after eating a mild chicken korma served by Patterson on a camping trip in 2022.

“At first I felt hot, especially in my head, and that led to feeling nauseous and then that led to me quite suddenly needing to vomit,” he said.

He later fell into a coma before surgeons operated to remove a section of his bowel.

Simon later told doctor Christopher Ford that he had come to suspect Patterson might be deliberately poisoning him.

He became worried when Patterson offered him a batch of homemade cookies, Ford said.

“Simon was apprehensive about eating the cookies, as he felt they may be poisoned,” the doctor told a pre-trial hearing last year.

“He reported to me that while they were away, Erin called several times and enquired about whether he had eaten any of the cookies.”

Prosecutors dropped those charges before the start of Patterson’s trial, with tight restrictions preventing media from revealing any details.

Patterson hosted an intimate meal in July 2023 that started with good-natured banter and earnest prayer – but ended with three guests dead.

A 12-person jury found the 50-year-old guilty of murdering Simon’s parents Don and Gail Patterson, as well as his aunt Heather Wilkinson.

She was also found guilty of attempting to murder Heather’s husband Ian, a well-known pastor at the local Baptist church.

Patterson’s trial drew podcasters, film crews and true crime fans to the rural town of Morwell, a sedate hamlet in the state of Victoria better known for prize-winning roses.

Newspapers from New York to New Delhi followed every twist of what many now simply call the “mushroom murders.”

Throughout a trial lasting more than two months, Patterson maintained the beef-and-pastry dish was accidentally poisoned with death cap mushrooms, the world’s most-lethal fungus.

Death cap mushrooms are easily mistaken for other edible varieties, and reportedly possess a sweet taste that belies their potent toxicity.

Patterson will return to court on August 25 for hearings that will determine how long she spends behind bars.

Her legal team has 28 days after sentencing to appeal both her criminal convictions and her sentence.