“The sides welcomed the progress achieved in the implementation of the outcomes of the Washington Peace Summit, hosted and witnessed by the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump,” Pashinian’s office said in a statement on the talks. “They noted the importance of maintaining the positive momentum in advancing the normalization process between Armenia and Azerbaijan on a bilateral basis.”
“They expressed satisfaction with the start of bilateral trade and ongoing export of oil products from Azerbaijan to Armenia, as well as the transit of grain and other goods from third countries to Armenia through the territory of Azerbaijan. The sides agreed to further explore opportunities to expand bilateral trade and economic cooperation,” added the statement.
The Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders met in the capital of the United Arab Emirates hours before attending a ceremony for the annual Zayed Award for Human Fraternity established by the UAE government in 2019. It was announced last month that the 2026 edition of the award will honor an Afghan women’s rights activist and the “historic” Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty initialed during Aliyev’s and Pashinian’s August 2025 meeting hosted by Trump at the White House.
Baku continues to make the signing of the treaty conditional on a change of the Armenian constitution which it says lays claim to Azerbaijani territory. While rejecting this precondition, Pashinian has pledged to enact a new constitution. His victory in Armenia’s upcoming general elections is therefore a necessary condition for treaty’s entry into force.
During the Washington summit, Pashinian also pledged to open a U.S.-administered transit corridor that would connect Azerbaijan to its Nakhichevan exclave through Armenia’s strategic Syunik region. A special company controlled by the U.S. government is to build a railway, a road, energy supply lines and other infrastructure along what will be called the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP).
Pashinian’s office said the “implementation of the TRIPP and other connectivity projects” were also on the agenda of the Abu Dhabi talks. It did not give any details.
Armenian opposition leaders have expressed serious concern over the TRIPP, saying that it could undermine Armenian control over that part of Syunik. They claim that Pashinian has accepted Baku’s demands for the movement of people through the corridor to be exempt from Armenian face-to-face border checks.
Meeting with Trump in Davos on January 22, Aliyev likewise said the TRIPP amounts to the kind of an extraterritorial “Zangezur corridor” that is sought by Baku.
“The Zangezur Corridor, including the TRIPP project, is of great importance in terms of regional connectivity,” he was reported to tell Trump.