Just a year ago, we could not have witnessed the Armenian Prime Minister expressing gratitude to the President and Prime Minister of Azerbaijan. This was stated by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during the “Silk Road” conference in Georgia.

He believes that institutionalizing the peace established between Armenia and Azerbaijan is very important.

Pashinyan added that transport links are mutually beneficial, but they also lead to interdependence. “When countries begin cooperating with each other, it results in economic growth and an increase in the population’s welfare. Suddenly, countries realize that they are mutually interested in stability, territorial integrity, each other’s sovereignty, and the ability of nations to make their own decisions, because this is crucial for reaching agreements and implementing them,” he said.

According to him, established peace is an excellent opportunity to reflect on the history of a hundred years ago.

“Our histories are interconnected. In 1918, Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan gained independence within a few days, and then lost it within the same period. In 1991, all three countries gained independence almost simultaneously. I believe that in 1991 we did not draw enough lessons from our 1918–1920 history and did not understand the real reason why we gained independence together and lost it together. One of the reasons is that we did not appreciate each other’s independence, sovereignty, and statehood. At that time, we or our ancestors thought we could gain more by fighting each other, whereas history showed that by fighting each other, we risk losing the most important thing—our state and independence.”