Pashinyan credits his administration’s “balanced and balancing” foreign polic

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Monday that peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan began the moment his administration adopted the “balanced and balancing” foreign policy.

He made the remarks in a video message broadcast on social media, where he presented the Civil Contract party’s election program for the upcoming elections.

The Prime Minister first read out the provision enshrined in the election program regarding a balanced and balancing foreign policy.

‘A balanced and balancing foreign policy has proven its effectiveness, making it possible to stabilize the external environment of the Republic of Armenia. This approach will be adopted as a strategy, whose key objective is to prevent imbalances in foreign relations or to have tools to offset such imbalances.

Regionalization plays a central role in this policy, with the main goal of making it not only possible but also comfortable for the Republic of Armenia to live within its own environment without external support. In this regard, the further development of relations with Georgia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Republic of Türkiye, and the Republic of Azerbaijan is of great importance, and the party will pursue this path.

In this context, the full unblocking of the region’s transport infrastructure—including both the implementation of the TRIPP project and the launch of the Gyumri–Kars railway—will not only further strengthen peace and cooperation in the region but also turn it into a key hub of East–West and North–South connectivity, a Crossroads of Peace.

We also attach importance to the further development of the 3+3 format as a practical tool for advancing regionalization, and the Republic of Armenia will contribute to this. The involvement of the Russian Federation in this format also makes it important for the constructive transformation of Armenia–Russia relations.

The Republic of Armenia has also adopted the “Regionalization-2” concept, encompassing Central Asian and Middle Eastern countries, as well as India. Alongside the development of relations with other countries in the previous period, a significant step was the establishment of diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. This direction will gain new momentum during 2026–2031.

In the preceding period, the Republic of Armenia has established strategic partnerships, dialogues, or agendas with the United States of America, Georgia, the Netherlands, China, the United Kingdom, Kazakhstan, the European Union, Germany, and Luxembourg. At the same time, relations with the Russian Federation are in a phase of constructive transformation. Armenia will continue to develop mutually beneficial and constructive relations with the Russian Federation.’

The Prime Minister then again recalled that until recently Armenia had no diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.

‘We established diplomatic relations with those countries, and accordingly, this provision of the election program first and foremost demonstrates the effectiveness of a balanced and balancing foreign policy. It should also be noted that, by and large, the peace process began from the moment we adopted the concept of a balanced and balancing foreign policy—when we started to look at ourselves, our region, and the world from a different perspective. Viewing things from this new perspective has led to concrete results,’ the Prime Minister of Armenia stated.

He rejected accusations by some representatives of the political opposition in Armenia that the ruling force—and he personally—is allegedly “pro-Azerbaijani or pro-Turkish”, and explained why these allegations arise.

‘But what has actually happened and is happening? In reality, the following has taken place: in our relations with Azerbaijan and Türkiye, we had almost always acted through third countries—in other words, 90 percent or more of our messages and agendas had been communicated via intermediaries. And what did we observe? A very simple thing, with both objective and subjective grounds: when you communicate with someone through a third party, you can never be certain that your messages are conveyed accurately to the recipient, or that their messages are transmitted back to you precisely. A third party may have its own perceptions, interests, and interpretations, and we can never fully know what those interests are.

This has also been one of the reasons why peace was not established in our region for many years. We have changed our approach. We have said: if we have something to discuss with Türkiye and Azerbaijan—and clearly we do—why should we not speak directly? This is the only guarantee that we can be confident our message has been delivered correctly and that we are receiving an accurate response. Whether the response is good or bad is another matter; what matters is avoiding distortions in communication. And I want to assure you that such distortions always occur when communication happens through third parties—sometimes deliberately, sometimes unintentionally.

There are nuances and subtleties, including mental and perceptual aspects related to the region, that distant countries may fail to grasp. In situations involving decades-long, sometimes even centuries-old conflicts, every nuance can be crucial. We have achieved peace precisely by understanding that messages conveyed through intermediaries are not always transmitted as intended—on either side.

It is this change in our approach that gives some people grounds—or is used by them—to accuse us, or me, of being pro-Turkish or pro-Azerbaijani. For decades, our practice was: if we had something to say to Türkiye or Azerbaijan, whom should we call to get our message across? We have chosen, and will continue to choose, direct communication—while not excluding the involvement of third countries. There are agendas where third-party involvement is necessary and even mandatory, as they concern broader issues. But in bilateral relations, we must keep communication active. It is thanks to this understanding that we have peace today,’ the Prime Minister of Armenia elaborated.