Deputy Director of the Center for Near Eastern Studies (AMES) Serhiy Danylov said this live on Espreso."The fact that Russia is losing ground in the South Caucasus is actually acknowledged by them. Since May, they’ve been saying that this peace, reached without Russia’s involvement, is ‘premature,’ as they put it. And in plain terms, they’ve said everything happening should be under Russian moderation. But not only was it without Russian mediation, with this public handshake of the three leaders, it happened with no Russian role at all. That’s exactly how it’s seen in the region," he noted.Danylov added that U.S. President Donald Trump sped up the signing of the agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia."Trump contributed to the fact that this happened earlier than expected, everything else the parties did independently. And they did it back in March, when the text of the agreement was, in fact, agreed upon," he said.BackgroundOn March 14, Armenia accepted Azerbaijan’s proposals for the final text of the peace agreement. The next day, both countries accused each other of breaking the ceasefire along their border. Yerevan called for an investigation into cross-border shootings, which increased the risk of renewed fighting.In June, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced his aim to complete the peace agreement process with Azerbaijan by the end of 2025.In July, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev named two key conditions which, in his view, would allow the signing of a peace agreement with Armenia.On August 8, Donald Trump announced that Pashinyan and Aliyev would come to the White House to sign the deal.On the same day, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a U.S.-brokered peace agreement.On August 11, the Foreign Ministries of Azerbaijan and Armenia published the text of the initialed agreement "On the Establishment of Peace and Interstate Relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan."