The award ceremony for the Hessian Peace Prize, presented to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, took place in Wiesbaden at the Landtag of Hesse (parliament).
At the entrance to the parliament, the Prime Minister was welcomed by Daniela Sommer, Vice President of the parliament of Hesse, and Karl Starzacher, Chairman of the Board of the Albert Osswald Foundation; following this, Nikol Pashinyan signed the guestbook for honorary guests.
Serap Güler, Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office of Germany; Karl Starzacher, Chairman of the Board of the Albert Osswald Foundation; and Michaela Jekel-Osswald, a member of the Foundation’s board and daughter of Albert Osswald delivered speeches during the award ceremony. In their remarks, they addressed the decision to present the peace prize to the Prime Minister of Armenia and highly commended his efforts toward establishing peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan, advancing democratic reforms in Armenia, and fostering the development of relations with the European Union. A presentation was also made regarding Prime Minister Pashinyan’s biography and career, highlighting his roles as a journalist, editor, Member of Parliament, leader of the popular, non-violent "Velvet Revolution" in Armenia, and Prime Minister.
Subsequently, the certificate for the Hessian Peace Prize was presented to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, after which the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia delivered a speech.
Nikol Pashinyan noted, in particular:
"Dear Ms. Sommer,
Dear Mr. Starzacher,
Distinguished members of the Hessian Landtag,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is a great honour for me to receive the Hessian Peace Prize. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the Board of Trustees of the Albert Osswald Foundation for this high recognition.
On August 8, 2025, peace was established between Armenia and Azerbaijan as a result of the Washington Peace Summit and the Joint Declaration adopted there by the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliev and myself, witnessed by United States President Donald Trump.
Importantly, peace was established not only on paper and in the news, but also on the ground, allowing the peoples of Armenia and Azerbaijan to feel differently.
The real journey of peace began in the spring of 2024, when Armenia and Azerbaijan had a first-ever delimitation process in our post-Soviet history. Since then, there have been no casualties on either side due to border incidents, something unprecedented from the early ‘90s.
In 2024, Armenia and Azerbaijan succeeded in signing and ratifying a first-ever inter-state document—the Regulation on the Joint Activities of the Border Delimitation and Demarcation Committees of the two countries.
This document provides that the 1991 Alma Ata Declaration is the basic principle for the delimitation and demarcation of the border between our two countries.
It means that Armenia and Azerbaijan recognize each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty in accordance with the territories of the two respective Soviet Republics.
This is the principle stipulated also in the Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and Interstate Relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which our Foreign Affairs Ministers initialed ինիշըլդ during the Washington Peace Summit.
The initialing of the Agreement and the adoption of the Washington Peace Declaration became a historic breakthrough in the Armenia-Azerbaijan relationship.
For this, I wish to extend my appreciation to United States President Donald Trump, whose personal involvement and leadership were decisive.
I also wish to extend my appreciation to Ilham Aliyev, the President of Azerbaijan, who equally deserves this prize.
I would also like to pay tribute to the peoples of Armenia and Azerbaijan. In spite of the hardship, human losses, and suffering caused by the conflict, they have accepted and defended the peace, with the realization that we cannot change the past, but we can change the present and the future:/ instead of the seemingly endless conflict, a prospect of peace, prosperity, and cooperation.
Ladies and Gentlemen;
The TRIPP project, the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, is another important outcome of the Washington Peace Summit. Daily work is currently ongoing for its implementation.
This project will open up Armenia’s communication routes for Azerbaijan, and vice versa. Although in fact, since November 2025, Azerbaijan’s railway has been open for Armenia, via Georgia, and bilateral trade between Armenia and Azerbaijan has started.
The TRIPP project implies restoration of the railway in Armenia’s territory, the construction of roads, pipelines, and electricity transmission lines, which will serve not only domestic or regional, but also international and transit purposes, unleashing new opportunities for East-West and North-South connectivity.
The implementation of this project will also facilitate peaceful exchanges and contacts between the peoples of Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Such/ սաչ interactions are no less important than signed and ratified documents, or high-level meetings and agreements.
The peoples of Armenia and Azerbaijan have centuries of experience of peaceful coexistence, which was virtually forgotten during the 30+ years of the conflict.
And our task is not really about reviving the past, but developing those traditions into a new era of inter-state, good-neighborly relations, respecting each other’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political independence.
Ladies and Gentlemen;
Peace has been established between Armenia and Azerbaijan. It is certainly not perfect.
There are many issues, including humanitarian, that worry our societies. The missing persons, the detainees, the demining… these are issues the solution of which will require further efforts from both Armenia and Azerbaijan.
And I am hopeful that we will successfully address all these issues.
Dear friends.
Receiving this prize here, in Hessen, carries a special meaning for me.
In 1988, when Armenia was struck by the devastating Spitak earthquake, Hessen was among those who came to the assistance of the Armenian people. With the support of Hessen, facilities including a kindergarten and a hospital were built.
At that time, Armenia was going through one of the darkest moments in its modern history. And then, the people of Hessen reached out to us with generous assistance.
Mr Starzacher, you yourself visited Armenia during those difficult years and saw with your own eyes the consequences of that catastrophe.
Today, decades later, we meet again, but under completely different circumstances. Then, Hessen extended a hand to Armenia in a moment of tragedy. Today, Hessen extends its hand in recognition of our efforts for peace.
There is also a more personal connection with this beautiful city of Wiesbaden.
Many years ago, when I was writing my book “ThЕ Other Side of the Earth”, Wiesbaden was one of my stops in an imaginary journey, seen through the eyes of someone trying to understand the world beyond Armenia.
And today I stand here in Wiesbaden, not as a writer imagining a distant place, but as the Prime Minister of Armenia, receiving a peace prize. And perhaps there is something symbolic in this, especially on the backdrop of the 2018 people’s velvet non-violent revolution, because we view peace as the most conducive environment for consolidating and institutionalizing our democratic reforms and making our democracy sustainable and irreversible.
In this context, I would like to thank the European Union, Germany and the other Member States, for the long-standing support to our democratic resilience. Our relationship with the EU is now at the highest historical point, a strategic partnership, and we are still exploring further opportunities.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Armenia is deeply grateful to all our international partners who have supported peace in our region. We see this prize as one expression of that support.
Taking this opportunity, I would like to warmly congratulate the Federal State of Hessen on the occasion of its 80th anniversary. The reconstruction of Hessen after the war is an important lesson for humanity, demonstrating how it is possible to rise ռայզ again, find the strength to move forward, and work together to build a peaceful and prosperous future.
Thank you”.
