The actual results of this meeting were both more than expected and less than they seemed. The summit offered two practical outcomes: the initialing of a bilateral peace treaty by the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers and the signing by the three presidents of a preliminary document on the establishment of a “connectivity project.”

In what has been widely hailed as a breakthrough, U.S. President Donald Trump hosted the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan at the White House on Aug. 8 for what was termed a “peace summit.” The ceremonial summit featured separate bilateral meetings between Trump and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan as well as Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and then moved on to the main event—the signing of a “joint declaration” by all three.

In what has been widely hailed as a breakthrough, U.S. President Donald Trump hosted the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan at the White House on Aug. 8 for what was termed a “peace summit.” The ceremonial summit featured separate bilateral meetings between Trump and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan as well as Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and then moved on to the main event—the signing of a “joint declaration” by all three.

The actual results of this meeting were both more than expected and less than they seemed. The summit offered two practical outcomes: the initialing of a bilateral peace treaty by the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers and the signing by the three presidents of a preliminary document on the establishment of a “connectivity project.”

The signing of a declaration on road and rail connections, both supported and signed by Trump, reflected an agreement that broke through several years of problemat