Azerbaijani fuel enters Armenia in first post-war trade deal

Azerbaijani fuel entered Armenia for the first time since the two long-time rivals fought multiple wars, Yerevan said, hailing it as a historic step in post-conflict settlement.

A train carrying 1,300 tonnes of Azerbaijani-produced gasoline crossed into Armenia via Georgia, Armenian Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan said on Friday.

"This is probably the first trade and economic transaction between Armenia and Azerbaijan not only since peace was established between the two countries, but since their independence as a whole," he wrote on Facebook.

The minister’s statement comes just a day after the Azerbaijani state news agency Azertac reported that the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) is delivering domestically produced petroleum products to Armenia for the first time.

It said 1,220 tonnes of fuel loaded into 22 railway wagons was dispatched from a terminal in Baku, and the fuel was being transported to neighbouring Georgia, through which it will be delivered to Armenia.

‘Confidence-building measure’

The Armenian government hailed the deal as "an important confidence-building measure that supports the peace agenda."

“The trade is taking place between private companies. But, of course, it is the peace established between Armenia and Azerbaijan that has created the political conditions for this trade,” Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was quoted as saying by Armenian state news agency Armenpress.

In October, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev announced Baku had lifted all restrictions on cargo transit to Armenia, which Pashinyan welcomed as an “extremely important announcement.”

The two Southern Caucasus neighbours signed a declaration at a trilateral summit at the White House in August, alongside US President Donald Trump, to end decades of conflict, with commitments to cease hostilities, reopen transport routes, and normalise relations.