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Visitors are still flocking to the quaint mountain town of Berkeley Springs in West Virginia to savor its hot springs, art galleries and gift stores. Residents, however, say they are navigating new tensions. They still smile and shake hands with neighbors at the bakery while getting their morning coffee, as long as they don’t mention two words: Donald Trump. The 850 residents of Berkeley Springs are a mix of rural conservatives who have lived here for generations and people who arrived more recently to the town, which is nestled in the Appalachian Mountains. The differences have existed for decades, but things are now growing tense.”A lot of people who quietly stand up for goodness are getting louder, and then that’s making the people who are upset by that also become louder,” says Kate Colby, 44, owner of Mineral Springs Trading Company.A large rainbow flag hangs on one wall of her gift store. Some locals told her to take it down, saying it made them feel unwelcome, she says.”They feel like they’ve got to be louder, and they’re aggressive… It just sort of builds, until it combusts,” she said with a bitter laugh.The small town dynamics are a portrait in miniature of what is happening across the country: liberal Americans hear the president’s frequent diatribes as attacks, while conservatives feel legitimized by his rhetoric.- Keeping quiet -Society in general has grown less civil in the United States in Trump’s second term, as he attacks the balance of powers and his political adversaries.”Trump does a really good job polarizing everything. He is like, you’re on my side, or you can get out,” says Nicole Harris, 47.Born in Oregon, Harris recently moved east to landlocked West Virginia, a rural and industrial state where almost 90 percent of the population voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 election.To avoid problems, she keeps quiet: no political discussions with neighbors or with guests at her bed and breakfast, the Grand Castalian Inn.”We’re a business, so we accept everyone, and we accept everyone’s opinions. I keep my own opinions for myself,” she says.Beth Curtin has owned an antiques store in one of the beautiful brick homes in the center of town for 36 years. Many of her friends are Trump supporters. She is not.”It is a small community, and so we bump into one another. It’s not like, you know, a bigger metropolitan area where you can just hang with people who share your same views…. it’s more important that we try to get along and, you know, sometimes you have to bite your tongue,” she says.   Curtin says she avoids some stores in town because she does not want her money going “towards people who have those views.”  – ‘Communists’ -In the air-conditioned chill of the Lighthouse Latte cafe, Scott Wetzel, a wiry, bright-eyed 62-year-old, recalls his farm-based childhood and adult life in landscaping and construction. He views Democrats as “communists” who threaten his way of living.”If I speak of freedom, their idea of freedom is telling me how I could live. That’s not freedom. They just don’t get it so, but you can’t fix that. That’s something that’s twisted up in their heads,” the retiree says.He says people are still welcome to “spew that garbage” but “I’m just not gonna listen to it.” In early July, some town residents held a march in Berkeley Springs against Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” A truck nearby sold caps with his face on them.”There’s gonna have to be some shift. We can’t keep escalating like this,” says Colby, the gift store owner.  “We need to get back to a point where everybody can just sort of like, calmly live their own lives side by side, which I think was happening a lot more before Trump’s first term,” she says.Standing on the balcony of his elegant bed-and-breakfast, Mayor Greg Schene offers a more conciliatory view on town life.”This is certainly more of a melting pot,” says the Baltimore native, adding that having a spectrum of political beliefs “makes us better.””Finding, you know, some solutions and coming to a middle ground is always better than having one dominant party,” Schene said, smiling as he greeted people passing by.

President Donald Trump said Sunday that homeless people must be moved “far” from Washington, after days of musing about taking federal control of the US capital where he has falsely suggested crime is rising.The Republican billionaire has announced a press conference for Monday in which he is expected to reveal his plans for Washington — which is run by the locally elected government of the District of Columbia under congressional oversight.It is an arrangement Trump has long publicly chafed at. He has threatened to federalize the city and give the White House the final say in how it is run.”I’m going to make our Capital safer and more beautiful than it ever was before,” the president posted on his Truth Social platform Sunday. “The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY. We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital,” he continued, adding that criminals in the city would be swiftly imprisoned.  “It’s all going to happen very fast,” he said.Washington is ranked 15th on a list of major US cities by homeless population, according to government statistics from last year. While thousands of people spend each night in shelters or on the streets, the figure are down from pre-pandemic levels.Earlier this week Trump also threatened to deploy the National Guard as part of a crackdown on what he falsely says is rising crime in Washington. Violent crime in the capital fell in the first half of 2025 by 26 percent compared with a year earlier, police statistics show.The city’s crime rates in 2024 were already their lowest in three decades, according to figures produced by the Justice Department before Trump took office.”We are not experiencing a crime spike,” Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said Sunday on MSNBC.While the mayor, a Democrat, was not critical of Trump in her remarks, she said “any comparison to a war torn country is hyperbolic and false.”Trump’s threat to send in the National Guard comes weeks after he deployed California’s military reserve force into Los Angeles to quell protests over immigration raids, despite objections from local leaders and law enforcement.The president has frequently mused about using the military to control America’s cities, many of which are under Democratic control and hostile to his nationalist impulses.

“Weapons,” a new horror film about the mysterious disappearance of a group of children from the same school class, opened atop the North American box office with $42.5 million in ticket sales, industry estimates showed Sunday.”This is an outstanding opening for an original horror film,” analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research said of the Warner Bros. movie starring Julia Garner (“Ozark”) and Josh Brolin (“Avengers: Infinity War”).Debuting in second place was Disney’s “Freakier Friday” starring Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis, the much-anticipated sequel to the 2003 family film in which body-switching leads to amusing hijinks, at $29 million, Exhibitor Relations said.”This is an excellent opening. The estimated weekend figure is well above average for a comedy follow-up sequel, and it’s also well above the first film’s opening 22 years ago,” Gross said.”The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” Disney’s debut of the rebooted Marvel Comics franchise, dropped to third place at $15.5 million. Its overall take in the United States and Canada stands at $230.4 million.Actor-of-the-moment Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Emmy-winner Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Joseph Quinn star as the titular team of superheroes, who must save a retro-futuristic world from the evil Galactus.Universal’s family-friendly animation sequel “The Bad Guys 2,” about a squad of goofy animal criminals actually doing good in their rebranded lives, dropped to fourth, earning $10.4 million.Finishing out the top five was Paramount’s reboot of “Naked Gun,” a slapstick comedy starring Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr, son of the bumbling police lieutenant from the original 1980s movie and related television series “Police Squad!”The film, which co-stars Pamela Anderson, pulled in $8.4 million in its second weekend in theaters.Rounding out the top 10 were:”Superman” ($7.8 million)”Jurassic World: Rebirth” ($4.7 million)”F1: The Movie” ($2.8 million)”Together” ($2.6 million)”Sketch” ($2.5 million)

European leaders urged more “pressure” on Russia overnight Saturday, after the announcement of a Trump-Putin summit to end the war in Ukraine raised concern that an agreement would require Kyiv to cede swathes of territory.Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will meet in the US state of Alaska this Friday to try to resolve the three-year conflict, despite warnings from Ukraine and Europe that Kyiv must be part of negotiations.Announcing the summit last week, Trump said that “there’ll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both” sides, without elaborating.But President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Saturday that Ukraine won’t surrender land to Russia to buy peace.”Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier,” he said on social media.”Any decisions against us, any decisions without Ukraine, are also decisions against peace,” he added.Zelensky urged Ukraine’s allies to take “clear steps” towards achieving a sustainable peace during a call with Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer.European leaders issued a joint statement overnight Saturday to Sunday saying that “only an approach that combines active diplomacy, support to Ukraine and pressure on the Russian Federation to end their illegal war can succeed”.They welcomed Trump’s efforts, saying they were ready to help diplomatically — by maintaining support to Ukraine, as well as by upholding and imposing restrictive measures against Russia. “The current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations”, said the statement, signed by leaders from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Britain, Finland and EU Commission chief Ursula Von Der Leyen, without giving more details.They also said a resolution “must protect Ukraine’s and Europe’s vital security interests”, including “the need for robust and credible security guarantees that enable Ukraine to effectively defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity”.”The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine,” they said. National security advisors from Kyiv’s allies — including the United States, EU nations and the UK — gathered in Britain Saturday to align their views ahead of the Putin-Trump summit.French President Emmanuel Macron, following phone calls with Zelensky, Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, said “the future of Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukrainians” and that Europe also had to be involved in the negotiations.In his evening address Saturday, Zelensky stressed: “There must be an honest end to this war, and it is up to Russia to end the war it started.”- A ‘dignified peace’ -Three rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine this year have failed to bear fruit.Tens of thousands of people have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with millions forced to flee their homes.Putin, a former KGB officer in power in Russia for over 25 years, has ruled out holding talks with Zelensky at this stage.Ukraine’s leader has been pushing for a three-way summit and argues that meeting Putin is the only way to make progress towards peace.The summit in Alaska, the far-north territory which Russia sold to the United States in 1867, would be the first between sitting US and Russian presidents since Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva in June 2021.Nine months later, Moscow sent troops into Ukraine.Zelensky said of the location that it was “very far away from this war, which is raging on our land, against our people”. The Kremlin said the choice was “logical” because the state close to the Arctic is on the border between the two countries, and this is where their “economic interests intersect”.Moscow has also invited Trump to pay a reciprocal visit to Russia later. Trump and Putin last sat together in 2019 at a G20 summit meeting in Japan during Trump’s first term. They have spoken by telephone several times since January, but Trump has failed to broker peace in Ukraine as he promised he could.- Fighting goes on -Russia and Ukraine continued pouring dozens of drones onto each other’s positions in an exchange of attacks in the early hours of Saturday. A bus carrying civilians was hit in Ukraine’s frontline city of Kherson, killing two people and wounding 16.The Russian army claimed to have taken Yablonovka, another village in the Donetsk region, the site of the most intense fighting in the east and one of the five regions Putin says is part of Russia. In 2022, the Kremlin announced the annexation of four Ukrainian regions — Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson — despite not having full control over them. As a prerequisite to any peace settlement, Moscow demanded Kyiv pull its forces out of the regions and commit to being a neutral state, shun Western military support and be excluded from joining NATO.Kyiv said it would never recognise Russian control over its sovereign territory, though it acknowledged that getting land captured by Russia back would have to come through diplomacy, not on the battlefield.burs-jj/gv/tc/fox

Jen Pawol made history by becoming the first woman to umpire in a regular-season Major League Baseball game on Saturday — and she says she is aware of the “magnitude” of the moment.The 48-year-old, who worked in more than 1,200 minor league games before getting the call-up this week, achieved the milestone at Truist Park in Atlanta in the first game of a double-header between the Braves and the Miami Marlins.”I’m aware of the gravity. I’m aware of the magnitude,” said Pawol, who worked at first base.Pawol, whose cap from the historic outing will be donated to the Baseball Hall of Fame, will be calling balls and strikes behind home plate in Sunday’s contest between the clubs.”Just incredible. The dream came true. The dream actually came true today,” Pawol said following the game. “And I’m still living in it.”The historic moment for Pawol came when Atlanta starting pitcher Hurston Waldrep threw the opening pitch. She later inspected Waldrep’s hands for foreign substances as part of her game duties.”Once I started umpiring, I was like, ‘This is for me,'” Pawol recalled before the game. “I can’t explain it. It’s just in my DNA.”This is a viable career, to become a professional umpire, for men and women, girls and boys. I’m able to make a living doing it and I’m passionate about it. I just work harder every day and get better before tomorrow.”In the game, Drake Baldwin singled in two runs and Michael Harris smashed a three-run home run in the seventh inning to lead the Braves over Miami, 7-1.- ‘Long, hard journey’ -Pawol began working as an umpire in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League in 2016 and last year became the first woman umpire in a pre-season spring training game since Ria Cortesio in 2007 before making her historic breakthrough in a regular-season game.”It has been a long, hard journey to the top here,” Pawol said. “I’m just extremely focused on getting my calls right and I’m so grateful to all those along the way who have helped me become a better umpire every day.”MLB’s addition of a female umpire comes 28 years after Violet Palmer became the first woman to referee an NBA game in October 1997.Shannon Eastin was the NFL’s first female on-field official, hired as a replacement when regular officials were locked out in a contract dispute in September 2012.Three years later, Sarah Thomas became the NFL’s first full-time female on-field official and last year, two women worked on the officiating crew of the same game for the first time.Stephanie Frappart of France was the first woman to referee a men’s World Cup match when she worked a group stage match in 2022.

Ukraine won’t surrender land to Russia to buy peace, President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Saturday, after Washington and Moscow agreed to hold a summit in a bid to end the war.Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will meet in the US state of Alaska next Friday, to try to resolve the three-year conflict, despite warnings from Ukraine and Europe that Kyiv must be part of negotiations. Announcing the summit on Friday, Trump said that “there’ll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both” sides, without elaborating.Hours later, Zelensky said on social media: “Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier.”Any decisions against us, any decisions without Ukraine, are also decisions against peace,” he added. “They will achieve nothing.” The war “cannot be ended without us, without Ukraine”, he said.Zelensky urged Ukraine’s allies to take “clear steps” towards achieving a sustainable peace, during a call with Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer.National security advisors from Kyiv’s allies — including the United States, EU nations and the UK — gathered in Britain Saturday to align their views ahead of the Putin-Trump summit.French President Emmanuel Macron, following phone calls with Zelensky, Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, said “the future of Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukrainians” and that Europe also had to be involved in the negotiations.UK Foreign Secretary Lammy received US Vice President JD Vance, Ukraine’s Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, top Zelensky aide Andriy Yermak and European national security advisors.On Saturday, Lammy posted on X: “The UK’s support for Ukraine remains ironclad as we continue working towards a just and lasting peace.”In his evening address Saturday, Zelensky stressed: “There must be an honest end to this war, and it is up to Russia to end the war it started.”- A ‘dignified peace’ -Three rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine this year have failed to bear fruit, and it remains unclear whether a summit could bring peace any closer as the warring sides’ positions are still far apart.Tens of thousands of people have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with millions forced to flee their homes.Putin has resisted multiple calls from the United States, Europe and Kyiv for a ceasefire.Putin, a former KGB officer in power in Russia for over 25 years, has ruled out holding talks with Zelensky at this stage.Ukraine’s leader has been pushing for a three-way summit and argues that meeting Putin is the only way to make progress towards peace.- Far from the war -The summit in Alaska, the far-north territory which Russia sold to the United States in 1867, would be the first between sitting US and Russian presidents since Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva in June 2021.Nine months later, Moscow sent troops into Ukraine.Zelensky said of the location that it was “very far away from this war, which is raging on our land, against our people”. The Kremlin said the choice was “logical” because the state close to the Arctic is on the border between the two countries, and this is where their “economic interests intersect”.Moscow has also invited Trump to pay a reciprocal visit to Russia later. Trump and Putin last sat together in 2019 at a G20 summit meeting in Japan during Trump’s first term. They have spoken by telephone several times since January, but Trump has failed to broker peace in Ukraine as he promised he could.On Friday, Putin held a round of calls with allies, including Brazil, China and India, in a diplomatic flurry ahead of the Alaska summit. In a 40-minute phone conversation Saturday between Putin and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the Brazilian leader reiterated his support for dialogue “and the pursuit of a peaceful solution”, his office said.Trump has imposed an additional tariff on India for buying Russia’s oil in a bid to nudge Moscow into talks. He has threatened China with a similar tax, but so far has refrained from doing so.- Fighting goes on -Russia and Ukraine continued pouring dozens of drones onto each other’s positions in an exchange of attacks in the early hours of Saturday. A bus carrying civilians was hit in Ukraine’s frontline city of Kherson, killing two people and wounding 16. The Russian army claimed to have taken Yablonovka, another village in the Donetsk region, the site of the most intense fighting in the east and one of the five regions Putin says is part of Russia. Four people were killed as of Saturday morning in Donetsk after Russian shelling, Ukrainian authorities said. In 2022, the Kremlin announced the annexation of four Ukrainian regions — Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson — despite not having full control over them. Russia had previously annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014.As a prerequisite to any peace settlement, Moscow demanded Kyiv pull its forces out of the regions and commit to being a neutral state, shun Western military support and be excluded from joining NATO.Kyiv said it would never recognise Russian control over its sovereign territory, though it acknowledged that getting land captured by Russia back would have to come through diplomacy, not on the battlefield.burs-jj/gv

An international crew of four astronauts is back home on Earth Saturday after nearly five months aboard the International Space Station, returning safely in a SpaceX capsule.The spacecraft carrying US astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan’s Takuya Onishi and Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov splashed down off California’s coast at 8:44 am local time (1534 GMT). Their return marks the end of the 10th crew rotation mission to the space station under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which was created to succeed the Space Shuttle era by partnering with private industry.The Dragon capsule of billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX company detached from the International Space Station (ISS) at 2215 GMT on Friday.When these capsules reenter Earth’s atmosphere, they heat up to 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit (1,925 Celsius), according to NASA.Atmospheric reentry — then the deployment of huge parachutes when the capsule gets closer to Earth — slows its speed from 17,500 miles (28,100 kilometers ) per hour to just 16 miles per hour.After the capsule splashed down, it was recovered by a SpaceX ship and hoisted aboard. Only then were the astronauts able to breathe Earth’s air again, for the first time in months.The crew will now fly to Houston to be reunited with their families.They conducted numerous scientific experiments during their time on the space station, including studying plant growth, how cells react to gravity, and the effect of microgravity on human eyes.- ‘Bittersweet’ return -NASA acting Administrator Sean Duffy praised the successful mission.”Our crew missions are the building blocks for long-duration, human exploration pushing the boundaries of what’s possible,” he said in a NASA statement.McClain said her farewell to the ISS was “bittersweet” because she may never return.”Every day, this mission depends on people from all over the world,” she wrote on X.”It depends on government and commercial entities, it depends on all political parties, and it depends on commitment to an unchanged goal over many years and decades.”NASA said last month it would lose about 20 percent of its workforce — around 3,900 employees — under cuts from the US President Donald Trump’s sweeping effort to trim the federal workforce.Trump has meanwhile prioritized crewed missions to the Moon and Mars.The Crew-10’s launch into space in March allowed two US astronauts to return home after being unexpectedly stuck aboard the space station for nine months.When they launched in June 2024, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were only supposed to spend eight days in space on a test of the Boeing Starliner’s first crewed flight. However, the spaceship developed propulsion problems and was deemed unfit to fly back, leaving them in space for an indefinite period.NASA announced this week that Wilmore has decided to retire after 25 years of service at the US space agency. Last week, US astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov boarded the ISS for a six-month mission. 

US fashion designer Willy Chavarria said Saturday he regrets that sandals he created together with Adidas “appropriated” a traditional design from the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca.Local authorities had complained that the Oaxaca Slip-On sandals were a “reinterpreted” model of huarache sandals, particularly one found uniquely in the area, which has one of the highest Indigenous populations in the country. Mexico’s government said Friday it was seeking compensation from Adidas.”I deeply regret that this design has appropriated the name and was not developed in direct and meaningful partnership with the Oaxacan community,” Chavarria, who is of Mexican heritage, said in a statement sent to AFP. Chavarria acknowledged that the sandals “did not live up to the respect and collaborative approach” deserved by the community of Villa Hidalgo Yalalag, from where the original design is said to have come.The Mexican government said Friday that Adidas had agreed to meet with Oaxaca authorities.”It’s collective intellectual property. There must be compensation. The heritage law must be complied with,” President Claudia Sheinbaum said during her regular morning press conference Friday. The controversy is the latest instance of Mexican officials denouncing major brands or designers using unauthorized Indigenous art or designs from the region, with previous complaints raised about fast fashion juggernaut Shein, Spain’s Zara and high-end label Carolina Herrera.

After nearly five months onboard the International Space Station, an international crew of four astronauts began their descent back down to Earth in a SpaceX capsule Friday. US astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan’s Takuya Onishi and Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov are expected to spend more than 17 hours in the capsule before splashing down off California’s coast at 1533 GMT on Saturday.Their return will mark the end of the 10th crew rotation mission to the space station under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which was created to succeed the Space Shuttle era by partnering with private industry.The Dragon capsule of billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX company detached from the International Space Station (ISS) at 2215 GMT on Friday.The capsule’s dizzying drop back down to Earth will be slowed when it re-enters the atmosphere — and then again by huge parachutes to soften its landing.After the capsule splashes down, it will be recovered by a SpaceX ship and hoisted aboard. Only then will the astronauts be able to breathe Earth’s air again, for the first time in months.The astronauts, known as Crew-10, conducted numerous scientific experiments during their time on the space station, including studying plant growth and how cells react to gravity.Their launch into space in March was heavily scrutinized because it finally allowed two US astronauts — who had been unexpectedly stuck onboard the space station for nine months — to return home.When they launched in June 2024, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were only supposed to spend eight days in space on a test of the Boeing Starliner’s first crewed flight. However, the spaceship developed propulsion problems and was deemed unfit to fly back, leaving them stranded in space.NASA announced this week that Wilmore has decided to retire after 25 years of service at the US space agency. Last week, US astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov boarded the ISS for a six-month mission.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have committed to a lasting peace after decades of conflict, US President Donald Trump said after the South Caucasus rivals signed a deal welcomed on Saturday by Iran and Western nations.Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijan’s long-time President Ilham Aliyev said Trump’s mediation should earn him a Nobel Peace Prize — an award the US leader has been vocal about seeking.The two former Soviet republics “are committing to stop all fighting forever, open up commerce, travel and diplomatic relations and respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Trump said at a White House signing event on Friday.However, the fine print and binding nature of the deal between the long-time foes remained unclear.The two leaders would have a “great relationship,” Trump said.”But if there’s conflict… they’re going to call me and we’re going to get it straightened out,” he said.Christian-majority Armenia and Muslim-majority Azerbaijan have feuded for decades over their border and the status of ethnic enclaves within each other’s territories.They went to war twice over the disputed Karabakh region, which Azerbaijan recaptured from Armenian forces in a lightning 2023 offensive, sparking the exodus of more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians.- ‘Historic signature’ -The Azerbaijan and Armenian leaders shook hands under the satisfied gaze of Trump before all three signed a document the White House called a “joint declaration.”Aliyev hailed the “historic signature” between two “countries which were at war for more than three decades.” “We are today establishing peace in the Caucasus,” he said.Aliyev offered to send a joint appeal, along with Pashinyan, to the Nobel committee recommending Trump receive the Peace Prize. “Who, if not President Trump, deserves a Nobel Peace Prize?” he said.Aliyev also thanked Trump for lifting restrictions on US military cooperation with Azerbaijan, which was announced on Friday.Pashinyan said the “initialing of (the) peace agreement will pave the way to end decades of conflict between our countries and open a new era.”The Armenian leader said the “breakthrough” would not have been possible without “peacemaker” Trump.”Today, we can say that peace has been achieved,” Pashinyan told a news conference after signing the deal.The agreement includes establishing a transit corridor passing through Armenia to connect Azerbaijan to its exclave of Nakhchivan, a longstanding demand of Baku.The United States will have development rights for the corridor — dubbed the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” — in the strategic and resource-rich region.Iran, which has long opposed the corridor over fears it would cut the country off from the Caucasus, welcomed the deal on Saturday.However, it also expressed “concern over the negative consequences of any foreign intervention in any way and form, especially in the vicinity of common borders.”The foreign ministry in Turkey, a longtime supporter of Azerbaijan, hailed the “progress achieved towards establishing a lasting peace”.UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy congratulated the two countries “on the bold steps taken in Washington.”European Union chiefs said it would pave the way to “lasting, sustainable peace for both countries and across the entire region.”- ‘Strategic’ partner -Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed on the text of a comprehensive peace deal in March. However, Azerbaijan later outlined a host of demands — including amendments to Armenia’s constitution to drop territorial claims for Karabakh — before signing the document.Pashinyan has announced plans for a constitutional referendum in 2027, but the issue remains deeply divisive among Armenians.Asked what Armenia stood to gain from Friday’s deal, a White House official said it was “an enormous strategic commercial partner, probably the most enormous and strategic in the history of the world: the United States of America.””The losers here are China, Russia, and Iran,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.The disputed mountainous enclave of Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but was controlled by pro-Armenian separatists for nearly three decades after a war following the break-up of the Soviet Union. Azerbaijan captured part of the territory during a 2020 war, then took all of it three years later. Almost the entire local population of around 100,000 ethnic Armenians left for Armenia.