Pashinyan thanks Ilham Aliyev for contribution to peace in South Caucasus

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

According to Armenpress, cited by Report, Pashinyan made the statement at a ceremony where he received the Hessian Peace Prize.

"I would also like to express my gratitude to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who equally deserves this award. 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 basis 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 regulations on the joint activities of the commissions on the delimitation and demarcation of the border. The document established the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration as the fundamental principle of the 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 described the initialing of the agreement and the adoption of the joint declaration as a historic breakthrough in relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.