Overview

• At the European Political Community meeting in Copenhagen, Albania’s Edi Rama joked to France’s Emmanuel Macron about a nonexistent “Albania–Azerbaijan” peace deal, prompting laughter from Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev.
• Macron played along with a mock apology as Rama quipped that Trump “worked very hard,” in a clip that quickly spread across social media.
• Trump has repeatedly mixed up Armenia and Albania when touting his role in easing Armenia–Azerbaijan tensions, including a Fox News interview and a joint press conference where he mispronounced Azerbaijan.
• The White House hosted Armenia’s and Azerbaijan’s leaders in August for a joint declaration toward normalization, which experts note is an early step that still requires follow-through to become durable.
• Trump’s broader claim that he has ended seven wars has been challenged by fact-checkers, with the Associated Press labeling the assertion false and India disputing U.S. mediation claims regarding Pakistan.