Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan participated in the plenary discussion entitled “Armenia and Peace at the Crossroads of Risks and Opportunities,” which took place within the framework of the 15th Security Forum of the Armenian Institute for International and Security Affairs.
Representatives of legislative and executive bodies, diplomats, public figures, politicians, experts and others also participated in the event.
The discussion was also attended by the US Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Armenia Kristina Kvien and the Head of the European Union Mission to Armenia, Ambassador Vassilis Maragos.
Before the discussion, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan made an introductory speech and touched upon contemporary challenges. The Prime Minister noted that the security environment around Armenia has never been more stable throughout its existence. According to the Prime MInister, all the previous processes, up to the statement issued the previous day by the Armenian and US governments on the implementation of the TRIPP project, play a role in creating an environment of security and stability around Armenia. According to the Prime Minister, all this opens up great opportunities for the region as well.
Speaking about the current situation in the world, Nikol Pashinyan emphasized: “In essence, the world is in turmoil. And the Republic of Armenia and our region are gradually, at least through Armenia-Azerbaijan relations, transforming into an environment of stability and security, an environment of cooperation, which is extremely important and a great achievement.” The Prime Minister highly appreciated the personal contribution of the European political community, as well as US President Donald Trump, to the implementation of these processes.
According to the Prime Minister, the logical continuation of these processes will be the development of Armenia-Turkey relations. “We hope that the processes that have been resolved logically and at the level of political dialogue will also have their expression on the ground.”
Emphasizing once again that the statement of the Armenian and US governments is a very important cornerstone on the path to institutionalizing the peace established between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Nikol Pashinyan noted: “We are moving forward at a much faster pace than we could have initially assumed, because when we recorded in the Washington Declaration the opening of regional channels for the Republic of Armenia, including the provision of a connection between the main part of Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, with mutual advantages for the Republic of Armenia, we assumed that Armenia would receive a railway connection with the outside world. And this happened, I think, much earlier than Armenia and the international community expected. Today, the manifestations of Armenia-Azerbaijan bilateral trade have already occurred much earlier than Armenia and the international community expected, perhaps Azerbaijan as well.”
Summing up his speech, the Prime Minister once again expressed gratitude to international partners for their support in reaching today’s milestone.
A discussion was then held on the newly opened opportunities and challenges of diversification, resilience, and de-blockade, and the speakers answered questions raised within the framework of the topic․
