Nikol Pashinyan expressed gratitude to Ilham Aliyev for his contribution to peace in the South Caucasus

Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan expressed gratitude to President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev for his contribution to establishing peace in the South Caucasus.

As reported by Armenian media, Pashinyan made this statement at the ceremony while receiving the Hessian Peace Prize.

"I also want to express my gratitude to President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, who equally deserves this prize. I also want to thank the peoples of Armenia and Azerbaijan. Despite the difficulties, human losses, and suffering caused by the conflict, they accepted and supported peace, understanding that they cannot change the past, but can change the present and the future," he said.

According to Pashinyan, the foundation for establishing peace was the joint declaration adopted by him and Ilham Aliyev at the Washington Summit on August 8, 2025, and signed in the presence of US President Donald Trump.

In 2024, the Prime Minister noted, the countries signed and ratified the regulations for the joint activities of the commissions on border delimitation and demarcation. The document enshrined the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration as the fundamental principle of this process.

"This means that Armenia and Azerbaijan recognize each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty in accordance with the territories of the two Soviet republics. This principle is also enshrined in the agreement on the establishment of peace and interstate relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which our foreign ministers initialed during the Washington Peace Summit," he added.

Pashinyan called the initialing of the agreement and the adoption of the joint declaration a historic breakthrough in Azerbaijan-Armenia relations.