Peoples of Armenia and Azerbaijan have realised they cannot change the past, but can change the present and future – Pashinyan

The peoples of Armenia and Azerbaijan have embraced and supported peace, realising that they cannot change the past but can change the present and the future, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said as he received the Hessian Peace Prize at the Hessian State Parliament in Wiesbaden.

Pashinyan was welcomed at the entrance to the parliament by Vice President of the Hessian State Parliament Daniela Sommer and Karl Starzacher, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Albert Osswald Foundation, before signing the book of honour for distinguished guests.

During the award ceremony, speeches were delivered by Serap Güler, Minister of State at Germany’s Federal Foreign Office; Karl Starzacher, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Albert Osswald Foundation; and Michaela Jäckel-Osswald, a member of the foundation’s board and daughter of Albert Osswald.

They spoke about the decision to award Pashinyan the peace prize and praised his efforts to establish peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan, advance democratic reforms in Armenia and contribute to the development of relations with the European Union. Pashinyan’s biography and career as a journalist, editor, MP, leader of Armenia’s Popular, Velvet, Non-Violent Revolution and Prime Minister were also presented.

Pashinyan was then presented with the certificate of the Hessian Peace Prize, after which he delivered a speech.

The Prime Minister’s speech in full:

“Dear Ms Sommer,

Dear Mr Starzacher,

Distinguished members of the Hessian Landtag,

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great honour for me to receive the Hessian Peace Prize. I would like to express my profound gratitude to the Board of Trustees of the Albert Osswald Foundation for this high recognition.

On August 8, 2025, peace was established between Armenia and Azerbaijan as a result of the Washington Peace Summit and the joint declaration adopted there by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and myself, which was signed in the presence of US President Donald Trump.

Importantly, peace was established not only on paper and in the media, but also on the ground, allowing the peoples of Armenia and Azerbaijan to feel differently.

The real path to peace began in the spring of 2024, when, for the first time in our post-Soviet history, a border delimitation process took place between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Since then, there have been no fatalities on either side as a result of border incidents, something unprecedented since the early 1990s.

In 2024, Armenia and Azerbaijan succeeded in signing and ratifying the first interstate document – the regulations governing the joint activities of the commissions on the delimitation and demarcation of the border between the two countries.

This document establishes the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration as a fundamental principle for the delimitation and demarcation of the border between our two countries.

This means that Armenia and Azerbaijan recognise each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty in accordance with the territories of the two Soviet republics.

This principle is also enshrined in the agreement on the establishment of peace and interstate relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which our foreign ministers initialled during the Washington Peace Summit.

The initialling of this agreement and the adoption of the Washington Peace Declaration marked a historic breakthrough in Armenia-Azerbaijan relations.

On this occasion, I would like to express my appreciation to US President Donald Trump, whose personal involvement and leadership were crucial.

I would also like to express my appreciation to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who equally deserves this award.

I would also like to express my gratitude to the peoples of Armenia and Azerbaijan. Despite the hardships, human losses and suffering caused by the conflict, they have embraced and supported peace, realising that they cannot change the past but can change the present and the future, choosing the prospect of peace, prosperity and cooperation over a seemingly endless conflict.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The TRIPP project – the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity – is another important outcome of the Washington Peace Summit. Work on its implementation is currently being carried out on a daily basis.

The project will open Armenia’s communication routes to Azerbaijan and vice versa, although Azerbaijan’s railway has, in fact, been open to Armenia via Georgia since November 2025, and bilateral trade between Armenia and Azerbaijan has already begun.

The TRIPP project envisages restoring the railway in Armenia, as well as constructing roads, pipelines and electricity transmission lines that will serve not only domestic or regional purposes but also international and transit purposes, opening new opportunities for East-West and North-South connectivity.

The implementation of this project will also contribute to peaceful exchanges and contacts between the peoples of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Such exchanges are no less important than signed and ratified documents, or high-level meetings and agreements.

The peoples of Armenia and Azerbaijan have centuries of experience of peaceful coexistence, which was almost forgotten during more than 30 years of conflict.

Our task is not, in fact, to revive the past, but to transform those traditions into a new era of interstate, good-neighbourly relations, respecting each other’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Peace has been established between Armenia and Azerbaijan. It is certainly not perfect. There are many issues, including humanitarian ones, that concern our societies. Missing persons, detainees, demining – these are issues whose resolution will require further efforts from both Armenia and Azerbaijan.

And I hope that we will successfully resolve all these issues.

Dear friends,

Receiving this award here in Hesse has special significance for me. In 1988, when Armenia was struck by the devastating Spitak earthquake, Hesse was among those who came to the aid of the Armenian people. With Hesse’s support, various facilities were built, including a kindergarten and a hospital. At that time, Armenia was going through one of the darkest periods in its modern history. And at that time, the people of Hesse provided us with generous assistance.

Mr Starzacher, you yourself visited Armenia during those difficult years and saw the consequences of that disaster with your own eyes.

Today, decades later, we meet again, but under entirely different circumstances. At that time, Hesse extended a hand to Armenia at a moment of tragedy. Today, Hesse extends its hand in recognition of our efforts for peace.

There is also a more personal connection with this beautiful city of Wiesbaden. Many years ago, when I was writing my book ‘The Other Side of the Country’, Wiesbaden was one of the stops on my imaginary journey, seen through the eyes of someone trying to understand the world beyond Armenia.

And today I stand here in Wiesbaden, not as a writer imagining a distant place, but as the Prime Minister of Armenia receiving a peace prize. And perhaps there is something symbolic in this, particularly against the backdrop of the 2018 Popular, Velvet, Non-Violent Revolution, because we regard peace as the most favourable environment for consolidating and institutionalising our democratic reforms and making our democracy sustainable and irreversible.

In this context, I would like to thank the European Union, Germany and the other member states for their long-standing support for our democratic resilience. Our relations with the EU are now at their highest point in history, within a strategic partnership, and we are continuing to explore further opportunities.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Armenia is deeply grateful to all our international partners who have supported peace in our region. We regard this award as one expression of that support.

Taking this opportunity, I would like to warmly congratulate the federal state of Hesse on its 80th anniversary. Hesse’s reconstruction after the war is an important lesson for humanity, demonstrating how it is possible to get back on one’s feet, find the strength to move forward and work together to build a peaceful and prosperous future.

Thank you.”