Pashinyan: Peace Marks Turning Point for Armenia’s Economic and Investment Environment

YEREVAN — Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on August 8 that the establishment of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan has marked a historic turning point for Armenia, opening new economic, investment, and regional opportunities.

In a message marking the first anniversary of the August 8, 2025 Washington Peace Summit, Pashinyan said that the agreement reached a year ago, with the initiative and participation of U.S. President Donald Trump, had established peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“One year ago today, on August 8, 2025, as a result of the trilateral meeting convened at the White House in Washington at the initiative and with the participation of President Donald Trump, peace was established between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” Pashinyan said.

He noted that the meeting is now referred to as the Washington Peace Summit, while the joint declaration adopted by the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders and signed by President Trump as a witness has become known as the Peace Declaration.

According to Pashinyan, the peace established between Armenia and Azerbaijan is now “visible and tangible to everyone.”

The prime minister said the results of Armenia’s June 7, 2026 parliamentary elections demonstrated public support for the peace agenda, while stressing that significant work remains to be completed.

He pointed to the peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which was initialed by the two countries’ foreign ministers in Washington on August 8, 2025, but still awaits formal signing and ratification. He also cited the unfinished border delimitation process and the continued detention of Armenian nationals in Azerbaijan as unresolved issues.

Nevertheless, Pashinyan described August 8, 2025 as a dividing line in Armenia’s modern history.

“Before August 8, 2025, our state was in a dead end. After August 8, 2025, limitless prospects opened before us,” he said, adding that Armenia’s ability to benefit from those opportunities would depend on the country’s collective will, knowledge, and ability to learn from both the world and its own history.

Pashinyan said one of the most significant political and social-psychological outcomes of the Washington summit was that “the steering wheel of our history is once again in our hands.”

He stressed that this did not mean Armenia’s path was free of risks, but rather that the country’s own decisions had become the primary factor determining its future.

The prime minister also highlighted the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, or TRIPP, as one of the most important outcomes of the Washington summit.

According to Pashinyan, the project is expected to end Armenia’s regional isolation, become a key component of both the Armenian and regional economies, and help transform how Armenia and Azerbaijan perceive one another.

“We will soon begin the practical implementation of the TRIPP project, and this will become a major regional and international event,” he said.

Pashinyan said peace was also a turning point for Armenia’s economic and investment environment, creating new opportunities for regional connectivity, trade, infrastructure development, and economic cooperation.

He emphasized, however, that peace remained fragile and could be undermined far more easily than it had been achieved.

Pashinyan called on both Armenian and Azerbaijani societies to avoid rhetoric that could threaten the peace process. In particular, he said discussions in Armenia regarding the return of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians and Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan, as well as discourse in Azerbaijan concerning “Western Azerbaijan” and the return of so-called Western Azerbaijanis, should not be pursued if lasting peace is to become irreversible.

“This is an issue that needs to be addressed both in Armenia and Azerbaijan for the sake of our future generations’ right to peaceful coexistence,” he said.

Pashinyan thanked President Trump for what he described as his undeniable contribution to the establishment of peace.

He concluded by congratulating both the Armenian and Azerbaijani peoples on the anniversary.

“Finally, we have a day that calms us rather than inflames us,” Pashinyan said. “May all the victims of the conflict rest in peace. Never again. Long live peace.”