World watchers are cautiously optimistic about the agreement between the President of Armenia, Vahagn Garniki Khachaturyan and the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev. 

These two leaders signed a historic joint declaration for peace in front of the President of the United States, Donald J Trump in Washington, DC on August 9, 2025.

Armenia also known as Hayastan, has been forced to cede its territories because of pressure from western powers since World War I. 

Before that, Armenians were a powerful people inhabiting and ruling land in the South Caucasus region for thousands of years. They established their capital of Yerevan in the early 600s BC, and it remains as one of the oldest, continually inhabited cities on the planet.

Armenia has been attacked over the centuries by the Persian Empire, the Roman Empire, the Ottoman Empire and the Soviet Union. Armenians have the dubious distinction of being the first legally recognized people who have suffered genocide at the hands of the Turks under the Ottoman leadership from 1915-1923.

Armenians have maintained a relatively stable genetic composition since the end of the Bronze Age, around 1200 BC. Armenia was the first country to officially declare itself as Christian in 301 AD, when Armenia’s King Tiridates III adopted Christianity as the state religion. 

Armenians are a fairly homogenous population. They have a diaspora in a number of countries since the economic challenges with the fall of the Soviet Union. The Armenian population in Armenia is less than three million as of 2024. About 62% of Armenians are under the age of 44.

Armenia is surrounded by hostile neighbors with the exception of Georgia. The population of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Iran totals approximately 178 million and is growing-compared to Armenia’s less than 3 million people in the country and about 10 million living outside of Armenia.

Russia is an unreliable ally and their population is 143.5 million. The demographics paint a woeful picture for the future of Armenia’s independent and sovereign existence, and as well as its ability to continue Armenian cultural and religious traditions.

Previous US Presidents Bush Sr., Clinton, Obama and Biden were not particularly supportive allies for Armenia over the decades. Let’s see what the Trump administration has to offer.

Armenian leaders seem to have no other choice but to comply and accept “the deal”.

Read the full article "Armenia & Azerbaijan-Frenemies for Now" on my substack: Read