Armenian PM says peace talks with Azerbaijan succeeded after moving away from “ping-pong” of reciprocity
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Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said negotiations on a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan successfully concluded after the two sides moved away from a policy of mechanical reciprocity, a process he described as a “ping-pong” of reciprocal actions.
“A lot is being discussed in Armenia about the so-called principle of reciprocity, that Armenia should take steps that others are taking, and others should take steps that are being taken in Armenia,” he said on Thursday at the Comprehensive Security & Resilience 2026 international conference, organized by Yerevan-based think tank WGSA.
“I think this logic will never lead to a change in the situation, and we saw this in 2024. It must be clearly stated: when did the negotiations on a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan successfully conclude? It was when we decided to move away from the principle of mechanical reciprocity. In other words, we saw that there was a situation where there was no longer any potential to make the text of the peace agreement better, and we faced a choice: whether to continue the ‘ping-pong’ of reciprocity or, nevertheless, to take the path of building a different logic,” the Prime Minister said.
As an example, Pashinyan pointed out that Armenia’s railway is currently not open to Azerbaijan, and if the logic of the principle of reciprocity were applied, Azerbaijan’s railway should also be closed to Armenia.