After returning from the Washington summit, I announced that I consider the agenda of Armenians returning to Nagorno-Karabakh harmful, and, in general, I consider the agenda of refugees and internally displaced persons dangerous, because it means reverting to the former parameters of the conflict. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated this at the international Orbeli Forum being held in Yerevan.

Pashinyan recalled that for several years he has been speaking about the fact that if the perception of the “historical homeland” is not replaced with the perception of the “real homeland,” the world will collapse. “Do we want to nurture peace, or not? This peace is the peace we have created with our own hands. This is a unique case. By saying ‘our,’ I mean Armenia and Azerbaijan. This is the peace that, yes, with difficulty, we have created with our own hands, and it is the first shared value that Armenia and Azerbaijan have created together. This value requires special care; we must review many of our perceptions. We must be careful with history,” he added.

The Armenian PM noted that in the context of unblocking of regional communication routes, when speaking with “serious figures,” they say that citizens of the two countries might face psychological difficulties when interacting at border checkpoints. “But at the same time, we are talking about the return of refugees. That is, is a 30-second interaction a problem, and then in Armenia they say that persons displaced from Nakhchivan, Baku, Kirovabad should return? In this case, there is a distortion of logic,” Pashinyan said.

According to him, a strategic deal will make peace and stability between Armenia and Azerbaijan strong, and this deal consists of recognizing each other’s territorial integrity based on the Alma-Ata Declaration, opening regional communications based on the Washington declaration, conducting border delimitation, and leaving each other alone.

“In essence, politically the conflict is exhausted, the conflict is resolved, but not socially or psychologically. No phenomenon lasting 30 years or more can be overcome in one move. But it is possible with political leadership. Do we want to be consumers of history, or creators? The experience of the last two years shows that we can be creators of history, which does not mean forgetting history,” the Armenian premier explained.

Pashinyan called for careful attention to history. “And why can’t we refer, in particular, to the history of those times? And there are, by the way, historians and political leaders who refer to the history of those times, considering it the main legitimate reference point, where, including in our region, including in the histories of Armenia and Azerbaijan, the narratives were defined by Kirovakans and Kirovabads, Leninakans and Leninabads, Kuibishevs, ‘October’ movie theaters, and so on. There are political leaders and circles that consider this the only legitimate reference point. There are political circles that consider this the start of history. I see an internal connection leading to the following: the more the name Basargechar is mentioned in Azerbaijan, the more the names Artsakh [(Nagorno-Karabakh)] and Kovsakan are mentioned in Armenia. This is already a problem in itself,” he said.

Reflecting on history, the Armenian PM urged taking the legitimate starting point into account. According to him, history is a long-term phenomenon: there is history of 30, 50, 500, 1,000, and 2,000 years.

“If we attempt to find the justification and logic of our actions in history, that means we do not believe in peace. Peace does not create debates, but harmony. Established peace requires daily care and further institutionalization, towards which work continues. We will continue the path of strengthening peace and its institutionalizing,” Pashinyan said.

He noted that if three years ago there were challenges requiring daily engagement, today there are also successes.

The Armenian premier said that the “success story” began in 2024, when Armenia and Azerbaijan started the border delimitation and demarcation process in Tavush Province of Armenia, and noted that this process generated significant criticism in Armenia. “By my instruction, our state bodies organize various visits to the given region to show what we mean by saying ‘peace agenda.’ So far, I have received no negative feedback regarding about everything we show on the spot, and this is a very important success story that continued,” Pashinyan said.

He recalled that later, regulations for the joint work of border delimitation and demarcation commissions were signed and ratified in both countries. “In essence, these are the first two international documents signed between Armenia and Azerbaijan that have legal force in both countries. This is, in essence, the cornerstone of establishing interstate relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, a turning point in the sense that the two countries have actually confirmed recognition of each other’s territorial integrity based on the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration. This means that Armenia and Azerbaijan recognize each other’s territorial integrity according to the former Soviet borders. This fact is already reflected in the initialed peace agreement, as well as in the text of the Washington declaration,” the Armenian PM added, but said nothing about Azerbaijan’s preconditions for signing the initialed document.

Pashinyan considered the greatest success the Washington peace summits held on August 8, which resulted in a declaration and the initialing of an agreement on the establishment of peace and interstate relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

“Thus, peace has been established between Armenia and Azerbaijan. And what are those challenges? We must record that peace is an unfamiliar concept for Armenia and Azerbaijan. From the first day of our independence [in 1991], we did not know what peace is. We have never experienced the phenomenon of peace. On the contrary, even in the period preceding the achievement our independence, the key factor and nature of our relations was the conflict. Essentially, Armenia and Azerbaijan gained independence against the background of conflict, within the logic of conflict, and thanks to the energy derived from conflict. And we must not underestimate this fact,” the Armenian premier concluded.

To recall, Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev on Monday had stated as follows: “There is no ‘Lake Sevan,’ there is Lake Goycha. The return of Azerbaijanis to their historical lands should not frighten Armenians.”