Pashinyan-Aliyev meet in Copenhagen while Armenian parliament issues statement in support of peace
Armenian parliament backs peace
Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev met on the sidelines of the 7th European Political Community summit in Copenhagen.
Both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to continue working on the “further consolidation of peace”. They highlighted the importance of the agreements reached on 8 August during talks in Washington, initiated by US President Donald Trump.
That is almost all that is known about the Copenhagen meeting. The press secretary of the Armenian prime minister additionally said that the leaders of the two countries:
- spoke about the benefits of unblocking regional communications, as agreed at the Washington summit,
- discussed the development of relevant infrastructure in Azerbaijan and the implementation of the “Trump Route” project in Armenia,
- exchanged views on the implementation of the trilateral declaration adopted in Washington,
- welcomed the unanimous decision to dissolve the OSCE Minsk Group,
- stressed the need for confidence-building measures and agreed to maintain further contacts.
The Armenian parliament also voiced its support for the peace process today.
At an extraordinary session, Armenia’s National Assembly adopted a statement on establishing peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Only MPs from the ruling Civil Contract faction took part in the discussion, while the opposition boycotted the sitting, saying it would not debate an “anti-Armenian agenda.”
“Establishing peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan opens up new opportunities for economic prosperity and progress. The institutionalisation of peace serves Armenia’s vital interests. Efforts must be made to further consolidate the peace that has been achieved,” the statement reads.
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Ruling party described the opposition’s refusal to attend the session as a “flight from responsibility.”
Opposition parliamentary factions “Hayastan” and “I Have the Honour” requested a break shortly before the extraordinary session to clarify their position on another issue. However, after a 20-minute recess, none of the opposition members returned to the chamber.
Ruling party MPs criticised the opposition’s behaviour. Parliament speaker Alen Simonyan called it “ridiculous, childish behaviour and a disgrace.”
“When it comes to peace, the opposition runs away, playing dead. They are doing everything to distance themselves from the peace process,” said the head of the ruling faction, Ayk Kondjoryan.
Statements from two opposition parliamentary factions
“Another attempt to mislead the public”
The Hayastan faction, led by former Armenian president Robert Kocharyan, described the parliamentary statement as an attempt to mislead the public:
“This is yet another humiliating statement, creating new threats for Armenia and the Armenian people. It represents only the ruling party and does not reflect the collective will of the Republic of Armenia or its people.”
According to the faction’s MPs, the statement:
- has no connection to real peace,
- and fails to meet even the minimal legal and political requirements for the safe life of Armenia and the Armenian people.
“This statement, like all documents adopted in Washington, contains no call for the liberation of Armenia’s sovereign territories from occupation by Azerbaijani armed forces, the prompt release of Armenian prisoners of war unlawfully held in Azerbaijan, the right of Karabakh Armenians to safely return to their homeland, or the prevention of the destruction of Armenian cultural heritage in Artsakh,” the faction’s statement said said.
“Another round of hollow promises“
The opposition faction “I Have Honor,” led by former President Serzh Sargsyan, described the statement as “geopolitical adventurism” and a document of unilateral concessions:
“The aim is to spread another round of disinformation and hollow promises to society. It is highly unusual to issue such a statement while the President of Azerbaijan continues to act and speak from a position of strength, labeling Armenia as an aggressor and war criminal, which contradicts not only a genuine peace agenda but also the principles outlined by Armenian authorities regarding negotiations.”
The faction’s MPs also expressed concern over the trilateral declaration signed in Washington by Pashinyan, Aliyev, and Trump, calling it “yet another dangerous (capitulation) document.”
While acknowledging Donald Trump’s peacekeeping efforts, “I Have Honor” stressed that Pashinyan’s government has thereby “dealt a unilateral blow” to Armenian-Russian allied relations, which, in the opposition’s view, undermines the military-political balance and “poses new threats and challenges for Armenia.”
“Make efforts to strengthen peace”: key points of the statement
The Armenian Parliament, in its statement, expressed support for the trilateral declaration signed in Washington on 8 August 2025, welcomed the initialling of the peace treaty, the agreement on unblocking regional communications, and thanked Donald Trump for his “contribution to establishing peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan.”
The National Assembly also:
- “considers key the decision that Armenia, together with the US and mutually agreed third parties, will define the framework for implementing the ‘Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity’ (TRIPP) communications programme on Armenian territory;
- welcomes the path towards a brighter future under the UN Charter and the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration, initiated between Armenia and Azerbaijan according to the 8 August 2025 declaration, which is not predetermined by past conflicts;
- confirms that, following the conflict that caused immeasurable human suffering, conditions have been created for establishing good-neighbourly relations between the peoples of Armenia and Azerbaijan, based on the principles of inviolable international borders and the inadmissibility of using force to seize territory;
- calls on the public, political, expert, academic, and cultural circles of Armenia and Azerbaijan to refrain from statements or actions symbolising conflict or aiming to reframe or inflame it, in order to ensure the durability and reliability of the established peace for the prosperity of the South Caucasus.”
