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For Armenia’s independence, sovereignty, and democracy, “peace is crucial,” said Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
Pashinyan spoke at an Atlantic Council event on Tuesday hosted by the Eurasia Center.
In pursuit of improved independence and sovereignty, the prime minister said, Armenia is “concentrating on our regional affairs first,” meaning Azerbaijan, Turkey, Georgia, and Iran.
“It isn’t possible to have real and thriving independence, prosperity, and security without peace,” Pashinyan argued.
“We have deep relations with our neighbors Georgia and Iran,” he said, “but we want to open a new era in our relations with Turkey and Azerbaijan.” Armenia and Azerbaijan had been locked in a conflict over the Karabakh region for decades, which was also one contributing factor to the historically tense Armenia-Turkey relationship.
Below are more highlights from the conversation, moderated by Eurasia Center Senior Director John E. Herbst, during which the prime minister also outlined how he envisions Armenia’s relations with the United States and the European Union.
Peace ahead?
- According to Pashinyan, peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan is “more than reachable” today.
- Pashinyan said that of the seventeen articles that comprise a draft peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, fifteen are agreed upon, including provisions on the territorial integrity of the two countries; two additional articles, according to the prime minister, remain topics of discussion.
- One such article regards the deployment of third-party forces along the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, a proposal seen as unnecessary by Azerbaijan. The measure is supported by Armenia in part because of Yerevan’s concern about the future operations of the European Union Mission in Armenia, whose mandate to report and observe the situation on the ground was recently extended for two years.
- The prime minister said that his country has proposed applying the provision only to delimited sections of the border. “We are waiting for a reaction from Azerbaijan,” Pashinyan said.
- The other article, Pashinyan said, regards a proposal for Armenia and Azerbaijan to withdraw complaints about each other in legal institutions. The prime minister argued that such a drawback should include removing those issues from bilateral discussions as well. “Our proposal is to . . . open a new era in bilateral relations starting from [a] new and empty and clear page.”
The big picture
- “The attention and support of [the] international community will be very useful to create a proper atmosphere for having a lasting and sustainable peace,” he said.
- “The potential beneficiaries of peace [are] not only people living in Armenia. All the region and even [the] international community will benefit from that peace,” he added. “We perceive this process as our investment into global peace.”
Looking west
- The prime minister spoke at the Atlantic Council during his working visit to Washington, a few weeks after the United States and Armenia signed a strategic partnership. In addition, Pashinyan noted, Armenia is “deepening” its cooperation with the EU—as shown not only by the mission in Armenia but also by EU-Armenia visa liberalization dialogues and the EU’s decision to include Armenia in the bloc’s peace facility.
- “We are in the process of diversifying our foreign relations in all fields, from economy to security,” Pashinyan said.
- “Armenia is [a] thriving democracy,” Pashinyan argued. That democracy is having a “very concrete impact” on Armenia’s foreign policy, he said. “When a country is democratic, obviously it will try to deepen cooperation and partnership with all other democratic countries.”
Katherine Golden is an associate director of editorial at the Atlantic Council.
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Further reading
Image: Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, recorded during a joint press conference at the Federal Chancellery in Berlin on March 2, 2023. Photo via FelixxZahn/photothek.netx via Reuters.