Donald Trump is now claiming to have ended a war between two countries that have never fought and are thousands of miles apart.
During his second term Trump has repeatedly said he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for stopping “six or seven” wars, a claim that is a wild exaggeration.
Speaking at the American Cornerstone Institute’s Founders’ Dinner over the weekend, Trump appeared to have invented a new war and wants credit for ending that as well.
“Cambodia and Armenia, it was just starting, and it was a bad one. Think of that,” Trump said.
Cambodia and Armenia are two countries over 4,000 miles apart and were never at war. Cambodia’s clash was actually with Thailand, while Armenia’s was with Azerbaijan.
Though the administration is claiming to have ended those conflicts as well, a closer inspection reveals it’s just typical Trumpian hyperbole.
Thailand and Cambodia agreed to a ceasefire in June after an outbreak of fighting killed at least 35 people. Trump said it was because of his pressure campaign against both sides that brought them to the table. But as Trump is taking a victory lap, the border dispute between the two nations is continuing. Thai officials are accusing Cambodia of laying new landmines which Cambodian officials have denied.
In August, Trump helped negotiate an agreement to normalize relations and reopening transportation routes between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which have spent decades fighting for control of the Karabakh region, CBS News report.
Trump invited both leaders to the White House to sign the agreement, but experts told CBS the deal is not a formal peace agreement and requires ratification.
A key point is that Azerbaijan wants Armenia to remove any mention of territorial claims to Azerbaijan’s land from its constitution before officials sign a final deal.