Photo: Official website of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs / F. de La Mure (MEAE)

BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 8. The French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs has issued a statement marking the anniversary of the Washington summit.

The statement was published on the ministry’s official website.

The French Foreign Ministry highlighted that Azerbaijan and Armenia have taken important steps over the past year.

"Over the past year, the authorities of both countries have taken significant and courageous steps to turn peace into a tangible reality for their peoples.

France hopes that this process will continue with the signing and ratification of a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the reopening of borders, and the development of regional connectivity. This would allow the South Caucasus to become a fully integrated area of cooperation, serving as a bridge between Europe and Asia.

Together with its European partners, France will continue to actively contribute to this process, while fully respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Armenia and Azerbaijan," the statement said.

On August 8, 2025, following a trilateral meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint declaration on establishing peace between Baku and Yerevan and restoring transport connectivity between mainland Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. The initiative was named the "Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity."

As part of the meeting, Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Armenia's Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan initialed the draft "Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and Interstate Relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia" and signed a joint appeal by the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia to the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office calling for the termination of the OSCE Minsk Process, the mandate of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on the conflict dealt with by the Minsk Conference, and the High-Level Planning Group.