Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that Armenia recognized Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan only after public statements by Russia’s top leadership. He made the remarks during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“We have discussed this many times, mostly in a working format. Yes, we recognized Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan, but we did so only after the highest leadership of the Russian Federation publicly stated this twice—you remember, we have spoken about this repeatedly,” Pashinyan said.

According to him, peace has now been established between Armenia and Azerbaijan as a result of long-term efforts and the involvement of multiple international actors.

“As I said, peace has been established between Armenia and Azerbaijan. You mentioned President Trump—obviously, he contributed to this process,” the prime minister noted.

At the same time, he подчеркнул Russia’s key role in normalizing relations.

“It is also clear that you personally have played and continue to play a key and very important role in the normalization process between Azerbaijan and Armenia. In all these processes, you have always been supportive, and we have always remained in close contact. I regularly informed you about the developments,” Pashinyan said.

Referring to recent events, he highlighted the importance of diplomatic engagement:

“Incidentally, in August last year, when I returned from Washington and called you, I said that what happened in Washington opened new opportunities for our relations as well—and now this is a fact. I have already mentioned the railway connection between Russia and Armenia.”

Pashinyan stressed that the Karabakh issue and regional stability had been worked on for decades, but a final solution had only recently been achieved.

“We worked on this issue for decades, but unfortunately we were never able to reach such a solution before,” he said.

Addressing the Karabakh issue directly, the prime minister stated:

“I have already said very clearly and publicly in the Republic of Armenia that we should not continue the Karabakh movement, because peace has already been established between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Armenia and Azerbaijan have recognized each other’s territorial integrity, political independence, and sovereignty. Based on the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration, this means that we mutually recognize that independent Armenia is 100% identical to Soviet Armenia, and independent Azerbaijan is 100% identical to Soviet Azerbaijan. I believe this is a solid foundation for further development of peace.”

Pashinyan also thanked Russia for its support in the peace process:

“I would, of course, once again like to thank you for the support that I have always felt in the process of establishing peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan. As for Karabakh, we have discussed this many times, mostly in a working format. Yes, we recognized Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan, but we did so only after the highest leadership of the Russian Federation publicly stated this twice—you remember, we have spoken about this repeatedly,” he concluded.