Overview

• Edi Rama told Emmanuel Macron to “make an apology” for not congratulating a supposed Albania–Azerbaijan peace deal, prompting laughter from Ilham Aliyev and a mock apology from Macron at the EPC summit in Copenhagen.
• Trump has repeatedly confused Armenia with Albania and stumbled over Azerbaijan’s name while touting his diplomacy, including on Fox News and during a joint appearance with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
• The White House hosted Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders in August and announced a normalization agreement aimed at ending decades of fighting, which experts note still requires implementation.
• Independent fact-checks, including by the Associated Press, dispute Trump’s claim that he has ended seven wars, and India has rejected the White House narrative about deescalating tensions with Pakistan.
• Despite ribbing Trump over the gaffe, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has also publicly credited the U.S. president with giving a “final push” to advance the Armenia–Azerbaijan process.