When Donald Trump declared earlier this summer that Azerbaijan was “on the right side of history” and that the Trans-Regional Integration Project (TRIP) would “reshape the future of Eurasian trade,” many in Washington dismissed it as yet another bold flourish from the US president. Yet behind the bombast lay a sober truth: the geopolitical arithmetic of Eurasia is shifting, and both the United States and the broader region are being forced to keep up.

Trump’s remarks, made shortly after the landmark 8 August Azerbaijan–Armenia peace meeting in Washington, reflected a new American willingness to insert itself into the South Caucasus peace process. This was not the usual rhetorical dip into regional diplomacy, but it was a carefully calculated move. For the first time in years, Washington stepped in as the primary broker for a document now known informally as the Washington Declaration, a seven-clause framework outlining the contours of an eventual peace settlement.

The significance of that meeting should not be underestimated. It represented not merely a step forward in the long and painful post-conflict process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, but also a signal that the United States was ready to reclaim strategic ground in a region long dominated by Russian influence. For many observers, the Washington talks were proof that Baku and Yerevan had finally reached the point where a negotiated future was within touching distance. For the United States, it was a chance to reassert itself as a security provider in a corridor where European and Asian interests increasingly intersect.

In private conversations with diplomats in Baku and Washington, the same point is repeated: the United States simply could not afford to sit on the sidelines. Russia’s position in the South Caucasus has weakened since it invaded Ukraine, while China’s expanding economic footprint has made the region a crucial link in its broader Belt and Road calculus. If Washington stood idle, the strategic vacuum would be filled by others.

The 8 August meeting was therefore less about symbolism and more about........

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