Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has hailed the establishment of peace with Azerbaijan as a key development, noting its growing practical _expression_ and saying that both sides have begun using similar rhetoric.
“The most important development is that we now have peace with Azerbaijan. And we should note that in the preceding period we have not had even two years, or even one year, without shootings, casualties, and injuries with Azerbaijan,” the Prime Minister said at a press conference after the first Armenia-EU Summit in Yerevan.
Pashinyan emphasized that, for the first time, a situation has emerged between Armenia and Azerbaijan in which the two sides are also converging in their rhetoric.
“For the first time in our shared history, Armenia and Azerbaijan are using the same or very similar rhetoric. The President of Azerbaijan also says that peace is a new reality in our lives, and we are learning to live under conditions of peace,” he noted.
According to the Prime Minister, the sides are still trying to understand the essence of peace and its practical implications.
He also highlighted the importance of institutionalizing peace, stressing the need to sign and ratify the initialed peace agreement, while noting that legal foundations already exist.
“It is wrong to think that the established peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan has no de jure basis. In 2024, the regulations on the joint activities of the border delimitation commissions were signed and ratified, which is the first interstate agreement between our countries with binding legal force,” Pashinyan emphasized.
Pashinyan said that the Alma-Ata Declaration has been accepted under this agreement as the basic principle for the delimitation process.
Pashinyan also noted that the peace process is already being reflected in practical steps.
“About 26,000 tons of cargo have already arrived in Armenia via Azerbaijani railways, and Armenia has also begun importing petroleum products from Azerbaijan,” he said.
The Prime Minister also stressed the importance of shaping a socio-psychological understanding of peace, noting that the consequences of decades of hostility cannot be overcome overnight.
“For 40 years we have lived in an environment of hostility, and it is not possible to simply turn off hostility and press a peace button. This is an inertial process,” Pashinyan said.
At the same time, he expressed confidence that the institutionalization of peace is progressing faster than expected at the societal level.
The Prime Minister voiced confidence that the sides will reach the signing of the initialed peace agreement, while stressing that further work will be required afterwards.
“The signing of a peace agreement does not mean that the work is finished. On the contrary, it will require the signing of many new agreements in different areas,” he said.
Pashinyan also highlighted the importance of opening regional communications and infrastructure projects, including TRIPP and initiatives being discussed with the European Union.
“When we fully open the roads for each other, including the opening of the border with Türkiye, and I have no doubt that this will happen, it will be an important step in the institutionalization of peace,” the Prime Minister noted.
Published by Armenpress, original at
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