European leaders shared a laugh this week over Donald Trump’s repeated mix-ups with geography, particularly his confusion between Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Albania.
The former U.S. president has long claimed credit for easing tensions in the South Caucasus, but his retelling of events often leaves listeners scratching their heads. Speaking on Fox News last month, Trump insisted he had resolved what he called “unsolvable wars,” saying:
“Azerbaijan and Albania, it was going on for many, many years. I had the prime ministers and presidents in my office.”
The problem? Trump appeared to confuse Albania, located in the Balkans, with Armenia, Azerbaijan’s actual neighbor and historic rival.
The gaffe did not go unnoticed in Europe. During a summit in Copenhagen on October 2, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seized the opportunity to tease both French President Emmanuel Macron and Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev. Turning to Macron, he joked:
“You should apologize to us, because you didn’t congratulate us on the peace deal that President Trump made between Albania and Azerbaijan.”
The remark drew laughter from the trio, with Macron quickly replying: “I’m sorry for that.”
In reality, Trump had helped broker a deal in August between Armenia and Azerbaijan to halt nearly four decades of conflict. Although the agreement remains unsigned, he has continued to tout the negotiation as one of his major diplomatic victories—going so far as to say the leaders “hugged” after their White House meeting.
Still, Trump’s storytelling hasn’t improved with time. At a joint press conference with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, he once again stumbled—mispronouncing Azerbaijan as “Aber-baijan” and mistakenly crediting Albania as part of the accord.
“To think that we settled Aber-baijan and Albania, as an example… it was going on for years. It was never gonna be settled,” Trump said, recalling how the leaders moved from opposite ends of the Oval Office to eventually embracing.
While the peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan remains in limbo, Trump’s version of events continues to provide plenty of comic relief—especially for European leaders with sharper maps at hand.
