US president says the deal will bring peace and new economic opportunities for the two rivals, but issues remain.United States President Donald Trump has hosted his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the White House for the signing of a peace treaty between the two longtime rivals.The US president said during a ceremony on Friday that he believed the two men would have a “great relationship” and that the agreement would bring peace and new economic opportunities to the region.“I want to congratulate these two great people, Prime Minister Pashinyan and President Aliyev, for coming to Washington to sign this momentous joint declaration,” Trump said.“The countries of Armenia and Azerbaijan are committing to stop all fighting forever; open up commerce, travel and diplomatic relations; and respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”Aliyev echoed Trump’s statements, saying that the deal marked the start of a “long-lasting peace, eternal peace in the Caucasus”.“ There should be no doubts and no suspicions that any of the sides would step back. If any of us — Prime Minister Pashinyan or myself — had in mind to step back, we wouldn’t have come here,” Aliyev said.The agreement will create a transportation corridor between the two countries, which have been embroiled in territorial disputes since the disintegration of the Soviet Union more than three decades ago.Those wars were largely fought over the disputed territor …
