Washington: Azerbaijan and Armenia – considered bitter enemies till recently – have agreed to jointly nominate US president Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. This takes the number of nations backing him to five.
On Friday, the president of Azerbaijan and the prime minister of Armenia signed a peace accord in the presence of Trump in Washington. This was when Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev suggested sending a joint nomination alongside Armenia.
“So maybe we agree with prime minister (Nikol) Pashinyan to send a joint appeal to the Nobel committee to award President Trump with the Nobel Peace Prize,” Aliyev said at the White House event.
Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan also backed the proposal, saying that Trump deserved the Nobel Peace Prize. “I think president Trump deserves to have the Nobel Peace Prize and we will defend that, and we will promote that,” he said.
Trump’s craving for the award is well known. After the signing of the peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia on Friday, the US president said that it would be great to win the Nobel Prize for peace, though he is not lobbying for it. He claimed that his efforts to end global conflict are genuine and aimed towards saving lives.
Pakistan is among the other countries to have nominated Trump for the award. This was for the US president’s alleged efforts to broker peace with India during Operation Sindoor. India has vehemently denied that the US had anything to do with the cessation of operations. India suspended hostilities after Pakistan’s DGMO made an appeal to his Indian counterpart.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu had also presented Trump with the copy a letter he sent to the Nobel committee, backing his nomination.
Israel’s support for a Nobel Peace Prize nomination for Trump was formalised during Netanyahu’s visit to Washington. it was during this visit that he had presented Trump with the letter expressing Tel Aviv’s support for a peace prize nomination.
Cambodia has also backed him for the award. This was after the US brokered a ceasefire with Thailand after five days of hostilities between the neighbours.
Four US presidents and a vice president have won the Nobel Peace Prize till now. The last US president to win the award was Barack Obama.
