'Washington declaration lays solid foundation for new era of good neighborly relations,' says Armenian delegate at OSCE PA

Head of the Armenian delegation to OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Armenian Parliament, MP Sargis Khandanyan, delivered a speech at the session titled Bridging Perspectives: Reinforcing Dialogue, Mediation, and Trust in an Era of Uncertainty during the 23rd OSCE PA Autumn Meeting in Istanbul.

Below is the transcript of the speech published by the Armenian parliament’s press service.

“Madam Chair,

First of all, I would like to thank the delegation of Türkiye for hosting us in Istanbul to congratulate on the excellent organization of the 23rd Autumn Meeting.

Dear colleagues,

During our past few statutory meetings, we have expressed hope and cautious optimism that peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan was within reach. Today, I’m genuinely pleased and honored to say, in fact, for the first time in the history of this Parliamentary Assembly that peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan has been established.

The historic peace declaration signed on August 8 in Washington, DC, represents a strong and genuine commitment by both countries to advance the peace process and finally, close the chapter of conflict. They acknowledge the important role played by the United States and the strong leadership of President Trump, who indeed delivered on the very theme of our discussion today.

The Washington declaration lays a solid foundation for a new era of good neighborly relations based on respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of borders.

It also charged a way forward for addressing all the remaining questions, including the signing and ratification of the peace agreement between our two countries, which was initial during the Washington summit.

Our discussions on the opening of regional communications have now become truly practical with concrete progress toward the opening of the “TRIPP” route within Armenia's “Crossroads of Peace” initiative. This route will benefit not only the South Caucasus region, but also will carry a global significance by linking Central Asia with Europe. The path ahead will require patience and care for building mutual trust. One important confidence building step has been the closure of the OSCE Minsk process and its related structures, following a joint appeal by Armenia and Azerbaijan.

And finally, being here in Türkiye, I cannot help but express my optimism that the normalization process between Armenia and Türkiye will also yield positive results soon. The constructive and active political dialogue currently underway gives us hope that it will soon translate into the institutionalization of our relations, the opening of borders and broader cooperation.

Thank you.”