Trump Says He Resolved Many Wars—A Closer Look at the Record

By Trevor Hunnicutt

WASHINGTON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump says he should get the Nobel Peace Prize after wading into eight conflicts since taking office last January. But the issues that caused many remain unresolved and conflict has flared again in some of the regions, including the Democratic Republic of Congo and along the border between Cambodia and Thailand.  

Conflicts Where Trump Intervened

Here are some of the international disputes where Trump has intervened:

Armenia and Azerbaijan

ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN

Trump brought together the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan on August 8 to sign a joint declaration pledging to seek peaceful relations between nations that have been at odds since the late 1980s.

"I got to know them through trade," Trump said later in a radio interview. "I was dealing with them a little bit, and I said, 'Why you guys fighting?' Then I said, 'I'm not going to do a trade deal if you guys are going to fight. It's crazy.'"

2023 ceasefire context

The two countries had committed to a ceasefire in 2023. In March, they said they had agreed on the text of a draft peace agreement, but that deal has not been signed. 

Peace declaration vs. treaty

The subsequent White House-brokered declaration falls short of a formal peace treaty that would place legally binding obligations on both sides. Issues remain, including whether an agreement requires Armenia to revise its constitution.

Economic corridor rights

The leaders struck economic agreements with Washington that granted the U.S. development rights to a strategic transit corridor through southern Armenia. The Trump administration said this would allow for more energy exports. In documents released at the time, the corridor was named after Trump. U.S. Vice President JD Vance visited both countries in February, signing a strategic partnership with Azerbaijan and a nuclear deal with Armenia.

Cambodia and Thailand

CAMBODIA AND THAILAND

Tensions remain between Thailand and Cambodia despite the fragile ceasefire earlier brokered in part by Trump.

The U.S. president had helped bring Thailand to the table for talks after long-simmering tensions with Cambodia spilled over in July into a five-day military conflict, the deadliest fighting between the two in more than a decade.

Trump had reached out to then-acting Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai two days after fighting erupted along a stretch of the border. Trump withheld trade deals with both countries until the conflict ended.

Ceasefire breakdown and reset

The U.S. president oversaw the signing of a ceasefire deal between the two countries in Malaysia in October, which broke down within a matter of weeks before a new ceasefire was reached on December 27.

Israel, Iran and the Palestinian Territories

ISRAEL, IRAN AND THE PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES

Trump chaired the first meeting of his Board of Peace initiative on Thursday, as part of a bid to direct a deal aimed at ending conflict in - and redeveloping - Gaza.

Hostage and ceasefire deal

Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas agreed in October to the first phase of a Trump-brokered hostage and ceasefire deal. Hostilities have continued.

But the agreement nonetheless marked a major step forward for efforts to end a two-year war in Gaza in which more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed. Under the deal, Hamas handed over hostages seized in the deadly attacks that started the assault. Both, however, have repeatedly accused each other of violating the truce.

Unresolved Gaza governance and security force

Both sides remain far apart on major issues, including Hamas' disarmament, the governance of post-war Gaza and the composition and mandate of an international security force in the enclave.

Abraham Accords expansion

The U.S. president has also been working to expand the Abraham Accords, an initiative from his first term aimed at normalizing diplomatic ties between Israel and Arab nations.

Strikes on Iran nuclear sites

The Republican initially pursued talks with Iran over its nuclear program. Israel launched an aerial war on Iran on June 13 and pressed Trump to join in. He did on June 22, bombing Iranian nuclear sites. He then pressed Israel and Iran to join a ceasefire that Qatar mediated.

Trump said at the time that Iran's key nuclear sites were obliterated and disputed reports that the program had merely been set back. But in recent weeks, Trump has threatened Iran over both that nuclear program and the government's human rights practices. He has ordered a huge buildup of forces in the Middle East and preparations for a potential multi-week air attack on the country.

Rwanda and Democratic Republic of the Congo

RWANDA AND DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

The Rwanda-backed rebel group M23 staged a lightning offensive this year and now holds more territory than ever in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Its recent advances have stirred fears of further regional spillover of fighting.

U.S.-brokered peace agreement status

Under pressure from Trump, Rwanda and Congo signed a U.S.-brokered peace agreement on June 27. It hasn't been implemented.

Trump brought the leaders of Congo and Rwanda to a Washington event on December 4 at a peace institute that his administration unofficially renamed in honor of the U.S. president. There, they signed more documents affirming their commitment to Trump's peace plan.

But the fighting has continued. Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi has said that Rwanda is violating its commitments, as has U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Rwanda has long denied backing M23, but U.N. experts and Congolese leaders disagree. Qatar has brokered separate talks between Congo and M23.

Critical minerals deal dispute

Meanwhile, the leader of a Congolese rebel coalition that includes the M23 group has said a deal on critical minerals signed in December between Congo and Washington was unconstitutional, raising doubts about its implementation.

The insurgency is the latest episode in a decades-old conflict with roots in the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

U.S. penalties warning

Trump has warned of "very severe penalties, financial and otherwise" if the agreement is violated. The U.S. is seeking access to Congo's vast array of critical minerals as it competes with China for control of natural resources.

India and Pakistan

INDIA AND PAKISTAN

U.S. officials worried conflict could spiral out of control when nuclear-armed India and Pakistan clashed in May following an attack in India that Delhi blamed on Islamabad.

Consulting with Trump, Rubio and Vance pushed Indian and Pakistani officials to de-escalate the situation.

Ceasefire scope and limits

A ceasefire was announced on May 10 after four days of fighting. But it addressed few of the issues that have divided India and Pakistan, which have fought three major wars since their independence from the United Kingdom in 1947.

Trade pressure claims

Days after the ceasefire, Trump said he used the threat of cutting trade with the countries to secure the deal. India disputed that U.S. pressure led to the truce and that trade was a factor.

Egypt and Ethiopia

EGYPT AND ETHIOPIA

GERD dispute overview

Egypt and Ethiopia have a long dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which Cairo regards as a national security issue and fears will threaten its Nile River water supplies.

"We're working on that one problem, but it's going to get solved," Trump said in July.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt later included Egypt and Ethiopia in a list of conflicts that "the president has now ended." 

It is unclear what Trump is doing on the issue, though he has said he wants to bring the parties together for talks. In public comments, Trump has largely echoed Cairo's concerns.

Dam opening and reactions

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed opened the dam in September despite objections from both Sudan and Egypt. Egypt's president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, has vowed to protect his own country's interests.

Serbia and Kosovo

SERBIA AND KOSOVO

Economic pacts from first term

Kosovo and Serbia maintain tense relations five years after agreements Trump brokered with both during his first term to improve their economic ties.

Without providing evidence, Trump said in June he "stopped" war between the countries during his first term and that "I will fix it, again," in his second.

Kosovo declared independence in 2008, almost a decade after NATO bombed Serb forces to halt the killing and expulsion of ethnic Albanians from the region during a 1998-1999 counter-insurgency war.

But Serbia still regards Kosovo as an integral part of its territory. The countries have signed no peace deal.

Kosovo's prime minister, Albin Kurti, has sought to extend government control over the north, where about 50,000 ethnic Serbs live, many of whom refuse to recognize Kosovo's independence.

Recent de-escalation claims

Kosovo's president, Vjosa Osmani, said in July that over "the last few weeks," Trump had prevented further escalation in the region. She did not elaborate, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic denied that any escalation had been looming.

Russia and Ukraine

RUSSIA AND UKRAINE

Trump, who said during the 2024 presidential campaign that he could solve the war in Ukraine in one day, has so far been unable to end the nearly four-year-old conflict that analysts say has left more than 1 million people dead or wounded.

"I thought this was going to be one of the easier ones," Trump said on August 18. "It's actually one of the most difficult."

Sanctions on major energy firms

Trump's views on how to best bring peace have swung from calling for a ceasefire to saying a deal could still be worked out while fierce fighting continued. He imposed sanctions on Russia's two biggest oil companies in October.

Pressure on Kyiv negotiations

More recently, Trump has attempted to press Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy into accepting a deal to end the war that European leaders worry would favor Moscow and destabilize the continent. Talks in recent days have produced few signs of progress.

South Korea and North Korea

SOUTH KOREA AND NORTH KOREA

Trump has said he wants to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and make another push towards peace.

"We'll come back, and we'll, at some point in the not-too-distant future, meet with North Korea," Trump told reporters in October on a trip to South Korea.

Missile and nuclear advances

Trump and Kim held three summits during Trump's 2017-2021 first term. They also exchanged several letters that Trump called "beautiful" before the unprecedented diplomatic effort broke down over U.S. demands that Kim give up his nuclear weapons.

North Korea has surged ahead with more and bigger ballistic missiles, expanded its nuclear weapons facilities, and gained new support from its neighbors in the years since. In his second term, Trump has acknowledged that North Korea is a "nuclear power."

Conditions for renewed talks

Kim said in September that there was no reason to avoid talks with Washington if it dropped its demands that his country give up nuclear weapons. Trump agreed to support Seoul's pursuit of a nuclear-powered submarine for its own defense.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington; Additional reporting by Fatos Bytyci and Susan Heavey; Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Ross Colvin, Daniel Wallis and Alistair Bell)