YEREVAN — During the international conference “Comprehensive Security and Resilience,” Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan spoke about the concept of peace.
“I am not talking about popularizing peace, because I believe that the Armenian people themselves are the authors of the peace concept. I do not need to explain the content of his work to Hovhannes Tumanyan. Our people are the authors of the peace agenda. Do you want proof? Here it is—I am standing here as the Prime Minister of Armenia. There is no greater proof than this.
Why am I here as the Prime Minister of Armenia? If you were to conduct a survey among the political and intellectual elite, you would receive a significant percentage saying that I should not be Prime Minister. In fact, there have been efforts, calls, gatherings, and campaigns for this. Yet the reason our government remains stable is that the ruling majority translates into politics what comes from the people,” Pashinyan said.
He emphasized that this marks a turning point in Armenia’s thousand-year history. “Traditionally, the elites would create narratives and impose them on the people. Today, the situation is entirely different: the political elite, the ruling majority, is transforming into politics what originates from the people.”
Pashinyan stressed the army’s role: “The Armenian army has no task outside the internationally recognized territory of Armenia. Its sole mission is to ensure the defense of Armenia’s internationally recognized borders. This is the essence of the strategy of legality for the army.”
He also noted that Armenia’s access to defense markets has fundamentally changed. “Previously, our options for acquiring weapons and equipment were severely limited—not only geographically but also in terms of accessibility. Now, in essence, our markets are unlimited. This does not mean, however, that Armenia seeks to obtain every possible type of armament,” he said. According to Pashinyan, restrictions were lifted precisely because of the strategy of legality:
“No country has concerns that arms supplied to Armenia could be used for illegitimate purposes. No one can dispute Armenia’s sovereign and internationally recognized right to defend its territory. That right is undeniable and beyond challenge.”
Pashinyan added that if the army is considered the number one tool for ensuring security, then true security does not exist. “If we want the army to protect us, we must first protect the army. If we want the soldier to defend us, we must first defend the soldier. All the many layers of security that exist before the army are meant precisely to protect the soldier and the country.”
Concluding his speech, Pashinyan underlined that the peace agenda is a political mandate entrusted by the people. “That is why it requires no popularization—because even before being formulated, it has already been embraced. This does not mean, however, that dialogue should not take place.”
