PM Pashinyan calls on Armenian people to support normalisation with Azerbaijan “We have peace, and that is the reality”

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has praised efforts to normalise relations with Azerbaijan and called on the Armenian people to support the ongoing peace process.

“We have peace, and that is the reality. This is a historic change not only in our bilateral relations with Azerbaijan but also for the region as a whole,” Pashinyan said at the Paris Peace Forum, Caliber.Az reports, citing Armenian media.

“I am confident that the people of the Republic of Armenia will support what we have achieved so far. I have no doubt that Armenian citizens will back the peace agenda and the peace process,” he added.

Pashinyan also noted that the opening of the Armenian-Turkish border and the establishment of diplomatic relations are only a matter of time. “There are currently no significant obstacles to this,” he said.

While he did not provide a timeline, Pashinyan expressed confidence that Armenia and Türkiye will eventually establish full political and economic cooperation and become “normal neighbours.”

The ongoing peace efforts between Baku and Yerevan follow a landmark trilateral summit in Washington, D.C., on August 8, 2025, hosted by U.S. President Donald J. Trump, where Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders took significant steps toward normalisation of relations and regional cooperation.

The Washington summit, the first of its kind since the Soviet Union’s collapse, brought together Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and President Trump. The leaders signed a joint declaration outlining a framework for peace, emphasising sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the rejection of force. A draft peace agreement, titled “Agreement on Establishment of Peace and Inter-State Relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia,” was initialled by the countries’ foreign ministers, marking a milestone in resolving the decades-long Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict.

A centrepiece of the summit was the agreement to establish the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” (TRIPP), commonly referred to as the Zangezur Corridor. This transit route will connect mainland Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave through Armenia, facilitating intra-state and international trade. 

By Khagan Isayev