US President Donald Trump has shared a short video clip of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev complimenting him, a move widely publicised by Azerbaijani pro-government media.
Trump shared the video on the social media platform Truth Social on Monday, though Aliyev’s statements were originally made on 19 July during his opening speech at a media forum in Shusha (Shushi).
In his speech, Aliyev clarified that he never predicted Trump’s victory, but had made it clear Azerbaijan would prefer a Trump presidency because ‘Mr Trump, just like the people of Azerbaijan, share fundamental values, including family values’.
Aliyev went on to claim that Trump was the only US president not to start a war, emphasising that instead Trump aimed to end wars.
‘We are grateful to him personally for his personal aspiration to help Armenia and Azerbaijan to finally come to an agreement despite the fact he is busier with other global security affairs’, Aliyev said.
The video clip ended with Aliyev wishing Trump ‘every success’ in accomplishing his agenda, ‘especially when draining the swamp’.
— Trump Truth Social Posts On X (@TrumpTruthOnX) July 21, 2025
On Tuesday, Aliyev thanked Trump for sharing the video, while again underscoring Azerbaijan’s support for Trump’s ‘vision and efforts to promote peace and stability around the world, including in our region’.
I would like to express my gratitude to President Donald Trump for sharing my remarks on his social media platform regarding the U.S.-Azerbaijan partnership and his commitment to a peace agenda - both globally and in our region - which I conveyed at the Shusha Global Media Forum.… pic.twitter.com/6T2bjXeFeK
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) July 22, 2025
Previously, on 19 July, Trump told Republican senators that the US ‘worked magic’ in the peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan, saying ‘it’s pretty close if it’s not already done’. The statement came as Azerbaijani and Armenian officials continued to publicly disagree over how the unblocking of regional transport links could look.
Trump did not offer any additional details as to what he was referring to, and neither Armenia nor Azerbaijan commented on the brief remark.
Earlier this year, top officials from Trump’s administration made a series of diplomatic overtures to Azerbaijan, including a visit in March from special envoy Steve Witkoff to Baku and a phone call between then-US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and his Azerbaijani counterpart Hikmat Hajiyev.
The discussions appeared to focus on the then-recent announcement that Armenia and Azerbaijan had agreed to sign a historic peace treaty, with Waltz highlighting that the US was pleased the two countries had ‘taken a big step forward and agreed to a peace treaty’.
Yousef Bardouka
This article was translated into Armenian and republished by our partner CivilNet.
