Armenia and the New White House Administration: Nikol Pashinyan’s Visit to the USA

Nikol Pashinyan:
Peace is the only reliable tool for security and prosperity. Democracy cannot thrive in a state of war. In Armenia, people are constantly discussing how to ensure security. Due to historical factors, there is a general skepticism towards a peace agenda. However, our response is that without peace, security is impossible. The key to success lies in hard work, creativity, and active engagement. This process is not only crucial for Armenia but for the entire region and the international community. We see it as a contribution to global stability and hope for the support of our international partners.

John Herbst:
Thank you. You mentioned that during negotiations with Azerbaijan, you reached an agreement on 15 out of 17 points in the peace treaty. However, two points remain unresolved. To be frank, while maintaining diplomatic etiquette, I believe that the negotiations will take a long time if the authorities in Baku are not genuinely interested in a peace agreement that benefits both sides. How is your government approaching this issue? Could you elaborate on the two remaining points and the prospects of reaching an agreement?

Nikol Pashinyan:
One of the points concerns the presence of third-party forces along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border. Azerbaijan wants to prohibit the deployment of third-party forces along the border, specifically referring to the European Union’s civilian monitoring mission. We have acknowledged Azerbaijan’s concerns and proposed a compromise: this provision should only apply to sections of the border where delimitation has already been completed. In other words, if we have finalized the delimitation of a certain border area, then there should be no third-party presence there. We have submitted this proposal in writing and are awaiting Azerbaijan’s response.

The second point relates to legal claims filed against each other in international courts. The idea is to withdraw all such lawsuits. In principle, we do not oppose this idea. However, our proposal goes further—we believe that, in addition to withdrawing the claims, both sides should refrain from raising these issues in bilateral relations. Otherwise, we could end up in a peculiar situation where a lawsuit is withdrawn from an international court, but one side continues to bring up the issue in direct negotiations. This could then be used as a tool to provoke escalation, while simultaneously eliminating the possibility of re-filing the case in an international tribunal. We are not against withdrawing claims, but we propose a full stop to any further discussions on contentious issues and the start of a new era in bilateral relations—one based on a clean slate.

If you have noticed, this means that all key aspects of the peace treaty have already been agreed upon. The document contained very deep and sensitive issues, but we have reached a consensus on all of them. For instance, Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to recognize each other’s territorial integrity based on the borders of Soviet Armenia and Soviet Azerbaijan.

John Herbst:
You also acknowledge the importance of normalizing relations with Turkey. There has been clear progress toward this goal, but it has not yet been fully realized. What are the prospects for normalization with Ankara?

Nikol Pashinyan:
We are continuing and will continue this dialogue. I believe Armenia and Turkey have never engaged in such an active dialogue as they are now. In essence, there are no obstacles to communication with Turkey, and we are in regular contact. Our foreign ministers meet and talk periodically, our representatives stay in touch, and we are working very actively. There is a shared understanding of what needs to be done. However, of course, there are certain nuances, and final steps are needed to achieve concrete results. We hope that we will reach a positive outcome very soon.

Nikol Pashinyan – Thank you once again. This is a really good opportunity and an honor for me to have this conversation. Yes, we have initiated a program that we have called “Crossroads of Peace”. It is first of all about opening our regional communications, but it is not only about communications, because if we look at the issue from the perspective of religious tolerance, it is also about communication between people, because when transport communications are open, this is first of all an opportunity for people to interact with each other. This is a very important factor for a sustainable and lasting peace. This is an open proposal addressed to the countries of our region, and of course, we are working with each of them to implement this project.

David Curry – It’s amazing. For millennia, Armenia has been in the midst of this crossroads of Abrahamic religions. Beyond economics, how can Armenia culturally become part of an interfaith dialogue between Muslims, Christians, Jews, and others?

Nikol Pashinyan – I have already mentioned that we have different religious communities in our country. Of course, there is no tension between different religious communities in our country. Of course, there are certain forces, as everywhere, that are trying to take provocative steps from outside, but our institutions are reacting effectively to them, not allowing anyone to sow tension between religious communities.

A real dialogue is taking place in our country. As I have mentioned, we have the largest Yezidi community in the world, and this community is a very important part of our country, our national heritage. Of course, we have huge respect for Muslims, Jews, and other religious groups. I have already said that the largest religious institution in Armenia is the Armenian Apostolic Church, but we also have the Armenian Catholic Church, and other churches. This is a very important tradition for us.

David Curry – It has been years since Armenia transitioned from being part of an empire to becoming an independent state. How have the Armenian people emotionally accepted the fact that they have become a truly independent state while remaining interconnected with the rest of the region?

Nikol Pashinyan – You know, this is a really important issue. Now we are trying to bring the ideas of statehood, independence closer to our people. Because you are right, these are absolutely different things when you are a citizen of an empire and when you are a citizen of an independent and democratic country. For a long time, for several centuries, Armenia did not have an independent statehood, and 30 years ago we began to build our independence, and now we are in the process of creating a sustainable and institutional democracy. It is not an easy path, but it is extremely important. But we are doing it, as I mentioned, we are a striving democracy, which shows that democracy has a great future in Armenia.

David Curry – We had a short conversation backstage and I learned that you like to ride a bike, which I myself used to do years ago. I have been to Armenia several times, I have seen that beautiful country, I have even glanced at the disputed territories, where tragic events have taken place in recent years. I would like to see Armenia as a travel country, where people would come… What kind of future awaits you, do you think Armenia will one day become an attractive country for traveling?

Nikol Pashinyan – Yes, of course. By the way, we are working on organizing a professional tournament, maybe it will be called Tour to Armenia…

David Curry – Can I get royalties for that?

Nikol Pashinyan – Yes, of course. But organizing a professional tournament will take time, maybe several years, that is why we have decided to organize an amateur cycling race from the south to the north of Armenia this year, and I invite you all to participate. It will be a very good opportunity to see the beautiful nature of the Republic of Armenia, and we would like to see you all in our country.

David Curry – Thank you for coming here. Your attendance means that you believe in religious freedom, that everyone has the right to practice their religion. What is your final message to these people who have different beliefs, but believe that people have the right to practice the faith that comes from their hearts. What would you say to encourage them?

Nikol Pashinyan – You know, for me the values of the Holy Bible, the New Testament are very important and actually the beginning of my political activity was based on it. When I was in prison, as a political prisoner, the Bible was the force that helped me overcome that ordeal. Of course, it is very important to be guided by the Bible, for me, in particular, the New Testament, how to behave in everyday work.

Of course, it is not easy, particularly in politics, but we are trying to have value-based policies, be it domestic policy, economic policy, foreign policy. For this, religious tolerance and freedom are very important. It is very difficult to imagine democracy without religious freedom. Thus, we see Armenia as a democratic country, a real democratic country, with a vivid political dialogue, regional dialogue, dialogue with different people, countries and civilizations.

We will work to make Armenia a very bright place for different people to come, to engage in dialogue, to ride bikes, to enjoy nature, food and see the holy places. Our religious center is Etchmiadzin, and as I mentioned, in 301 AD Christianity was adopted by the Armenian king, which was the first time that any country adopted Christianity as a state religion. All the places that are connected with these events are now in Armenia, they are holy places, and I invite you to visit them, and in Khor Virap, where our first patriarch was detained as a Christian, it was persecution, but after some time the king realized that Christianity is the best religion, and he made the appropriate decision. So I invite you all to see all the holy places and interconnect with this very rich and important history.