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Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan delivered a speech at the CIS summit in Turkmenistan, emphasizing the role of the Alma-Ata Declaration in establishing peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan and highlighting opportunities for regional connectivity through the implementation of the TRIPP project.
He thanked Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov for the warm hospitality and high-level organization of the summit.
“I would like to particularly highlight the scale of this meeting, which is being held in the Avaza National Tourist Zone. It is truly impressive not only for its natural beauty but also for its infrastructure potential,” Pashinyan said, according to a press release from his office.
Addressing President Berdimuhamedov, Pashinyan praised the tourist zone’s infrastructure.
“I rode a bicycle around the city this morning, and I must say that I was impressed by the quality of the roads, the green spaces, the city’s architecture and its lighting. And I would like to say that, especially in the early morning, this is a true paradise for a cyclist,” he said.
Pashinyan congratulated Uzbekistan on taking over the CIS chairmanship.
“The cultural program organized on the Caspian Sea coast on the eve of the summit provided an opportunity to fully experience the richness of the traditions and cultural diversity of the peoples of our countries. I would also like to thank the Turkmen side for the work carried out within the framework of its CIS chairmanship during the outgoing year. For its part, the Armenian side has made constructive efforts to implement in practice the priorities outlined in Turkmenistan’s CIS chairmanship concept. I would also like to congratulate [President] Shavkat Mirziyoyev and our friends in Uzbekistan on assuming the CIS chairmanship. Of course, you can count on our support,” Pashinyan added.
The Armenian Prime Minister then highlighted that the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration – which played a key role in establishing peace with Azerbaijan - is one of the founding documents of the CIS.
“It is noteworthy that today’s meeting is being held in the year marking the 35th anniversary of the establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States. One of the founding documents of the CIS is the Alma-Ata Declaration of December 21, 1991. Through this document, 11 Soviet republics, recognizing and respecting each other’s territorial integrity and the inviolability of existing borders, recorded the cessation of the existence of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The Alma-Ata Declaration has played a key role in establishing peace between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan. In 2024, Armenia and Azerbaijan signed and ratified the Regulation on the Joint Activities of the Commissions on the Delimitation of the State Border between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan. This regulation became the first bilateral legally binding document concluded between independent Armenia and independent Azerbaijan. It stipulates that the respective commissions of Armenia and Azerbaijan will take the Alma-Ata Declaration as a fundamental principle in the process of delimiting the state border between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan. The founding document of the CIS also occupies a central place in the initialed text of the Agreement on Establishment of Peace and Inter-State Relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan. The preamble of the document refers to the Alma-Ata Declaration, while Article I states: ‘Having confirmed that the boundaries between the Soviet Socialist Republics of the former USSR became the international borders of respective independent states and have been recognized as such by the international community, the Parties recognize and shall respect the sovereignty, territorial integrity, inviolability of international borders and political independence of each other.’ Article II of the same agreement states: ‘In full compliance with Article I, the Parties confirm that they do not have any territorial claims to each other and shall not raise any such claims in the future. The Parties shall not undertake any act, including planning, preparing, encouraging and supporting such acts, which aim to dismember or impair, totally or in part, the territorial integrity or political unity of the other Party.’ The agreement containing the above articles was initialed on August 8, 2025, during the peace summit hosted by US President Donald Trump at the White House. We have come a long way toward peace since the 2020 war. In this context, I would like to highlight the role of Russian President Vladimir Putin in achieving the ceasefire in November 2020. However, unfortunately, even after the November 9, 2020, statement was signed, we effectively failed to achieve peace. It was clear that there was only one real way to achieve peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan: an architecture built on the principles of the Alma-Ata Declaration. It must be acknowledged that the adoption of the Alma-Ata Declaration in 1991 did not prevent the escalation of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. For more than 30 years, the conflict continued despite the existence of the Alma-Ata Declaration, and it seemed as though the declaration’s existence had gone unnoticed. To establish lasting peace, it was necessary, figuratively speaking, to revive the Alma-Ata Declaration. The President of Azerbaijan and I did so on October 6, 2022, following the quadrilateral meeting in Prague initiated by French President Emmanuel Macron and European Council President Charles Michel,” the Armenian PM said.
Pashinyan then highlighted the established peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
“Dear heads of state, peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan is an established fact. Today, we can state that for more than two years, there have been no casualties or injuries resulting from exchanges of fire between Armenians and Azerbaijanis, unlike the preceding period of more than 30 years, when there were casualties and injuries on both sides every year, beginning in the 1990s. The Azerbaijani railway has been open to Armenian cargo for almost a year. Bilateral trade between Armenia and Azerbaijan has begun, and a 12-kilometer section of the state border between Armenia and Azerbaijan has been delimited and demarcated. In the near future, we will see the implementation of the TRIPP project on the territory of the Republic of Armenia. It will unblock communications between Armenia and Azerbaijan, including the connection between the northern and southern parts of Armenia through the territory of Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, as well as the connection between the main part of the Republic of Azerbaijan and its Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic through the territory of the Republic of Armenia, based on respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and jurisdiction of states. This is being carried out in implementation of the Washington Declaration, whose third point states: ‘We reaffirmed the importance of the opening of communications between the two countries for intra-state, bilateral, and international transportation for the promotion of peace, stability, and prosperity in the region and in its neighborhood on the basis of respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and jurisdiction of the States. These efforts are to include unimpeded connectivity between the main part of the Republic of Azerbaijan and its Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic through the territory of the Republic of Armenia with reciprocal benefits for international and intra-state connectivity for the Republic of Armenia.’ Thus, new international logistics routes will also be opened, running from East to West and from South to North. These will include a railway connection between the Persian Gulf and the Black Sea through the territories of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, the Republic of Armenia and Georgia. This demonstrates that the implementation of the TRIPP project is beneficial to all countries in the region, including CIS member states, which will gain new logistics opportunities. In this context, I would like to note that the opening of the state border and, consequently, the restoration of connecting road and railway infrastructure between Armenia and Türkiye are also anticipated. Dear friends, it must be emphasized that the peace established between Armenia and Azerbaijan is not perfect. It is obvious that humanitarian issues remain unresolved. I am referring to determining the fate of missing persons, mine clearance and issues concerning individuals held in detention. Unfortunately, negative sentiments sometimes intensify both in Armenia and Azerbaijan, including at the official level. However, even if these developments raise questions, they no longer call into question the existence of lasting peace. We simply need to understand that a conflict lasting more than 30 years cannot be switched off in an instant by flipping a switch. This will require time and consistency. There have been numerous casualties, suffering, hostility, disputes and a conviction that, after so many years of conflict, peaceful coexistence between Armenia and Azerbaijan is no longer possible. If we look at the issue from this perspective, then, together with the President of Azerbaijan and with the support of our international partners, we have achieved the impossible. We need to take care of the peace we have achieved every day and preserve it, because this achievement serves, first and foremost, the peoples of Armenia and Azerbaijan, the strengthening of the independence of Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the future generations of Armenia and Azerbaijan, who have been given a historic opportunity not only for peaceful coexistence but also for cooperation and good-neighborly relations based on common interests. It was precisely the Alma-Ata Declaration and its revival that created this historic opportunity—or, more accurately, this historic reality. We simply need to build on this reality, looking toward a future in which the parties unreservedly recognize and respect each other’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, inviolability of international borders and political independence, and in which the parties have no overt or covert territorial claims against each other, either today or ever. Dear heads of state, this is precisely the strategy chosen by the Republic of Armenia. It is very important to emphasize that, in the Washington Declaration, we acknowledged the need to continue efforts aimed at signing and finally ratifying the peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and underscored the importance of preserving and strengthening peace between our two countries. We are moving forward along this path, and I hope and am confident that, through working together, we will achieve our ultimate goal: the signing and ratification of a peace treaty between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan. Thank you for your attention,” he said.
An expanded meeting of the CIS leaders followed, during which documents adopted within the framework of CIS cooperation were signed.