BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 18. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has thanked Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev for his contribution to the peace process in the South Caucasus.
Pashinyan made the remarks during a ceremony in Wiesbaden, Germany, where he received the Hessian Peace Prize for his efforts towards establishing peace in the South Caucasus. The award ceremony took place at the Hesse State Parliament on September 18.
“I would also like to express my appreciation to President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, who is equally deserving of this award,” Pashinyan said during his speech.
The Armenian prime minister also thanked the peoples of Armenia and Azerbaijan for supporting the peace process. He said that despite the difficulties, human losses and suffering caused by the conflict, both societies had embraced peace, recognizing that while the past cannot be changed, the present and future can.
Pashinyan said the peace process reached a major milestone at the August 8, 2025 Washington summit, where he and President Aliyev adopted a joint declaration in the presence of US President Donald Trump. He described the subsequent developments as a historic breakthrough in relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The Armenian prime minister also referred to the bilateral work on the state border and the use of the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration as a basis for the delimitation process.
According to Pashinyan, this principle means that Armenia and Azerbaijan recognize each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty within the borders corresponding to the former Soviet republics.
He said the same principle is reflected in the agreement on establishing peace and interstate relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which was initialed by the two countries’ foreign ministers during the Washington summit.
Pashinyan described the initialing of the agreement and adoption of the Washington declaration as historic developments in Armenian-Azerbaijani relations.
The Hessian Peace Prize has been awarded by the Albert Osswald Foundation since 1994 and recognizes contributions to peace and international understanding.
