Armenia awaits the return of Armenians held in captivity in Azerbaijan as a result of the conflict: Pashinyan.
Relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan require resolving the issue of clarifying the fate of several thousand missing persons—a matter on which we have reached an agreement to cooperate with Azerbaijan. Armenia is ready to continue and deepen cooperation with Azerbaijan regarding demining efforts. And, of course, the Republic of Armenia awaits the return of Armenians held in captivity in Azerbaijan as a result of the conflict.
Alongside these unresolved issues, another factor fueling pessimism is the occasional use of confrontational rhetoric within certain circles in Armenia and Azerbaijan—sometimes even at the official level. I believe that we—meaning Armenia and Azerbaijan—have achieved results that should be far more valuable to us than resorting to conflict-driven rhetoric, whether regarding history, historical-cultural monuments, or anything else.
Nurturing, strengthening, and institutionalizing peace must be the central theme of cooperation between Armenia and Azerbaijan. For two and a half years now, there have been no fatalities or injuries resulting from exchanges of fire between Armenia and Azerbaijan; I consider this the greatest value created through the cooperation of recent years.
Never before have independent Armenia and independent Azerbaijan experienced such a period in their relations, even though Armenians and Azerbaijanis share centuries of experience in peaceful coexistence. "Our task, however, is not to revive that historical experience, but to build interstate relations based on that experience—relations founded on respect for each other's territorial integrity, sovereignty, and political independence. Incidentally, this is precisely the discourse that Armenia and Azerbaijan have already agreed upon and initialed in the draft agreement on establishing peace and interstate relations between the two countries.
Signing and ratifying the agreement initialed at the Washington peace summit is the next major item on the joint agenda of Armenia and Azerbaijan, and we will consistently continue our work in this direction," Pashinyan said in his speech.
