Dear people, dear citizens of the Republic of Armenia,

A year ago on this day, on August 8, 2025, peace was established between Armenia and Azerbaijan as a result of a trilateral meeting convened at the White House in Washington, D.C., at the initiative and with the participation of President Donald Trump.

Now we call the meeting of August 8 the Peace Summit, and the joint declaration adopted there by the President of Azerbaijan and myself, which was also signed as a witness by the President of the United States, the Declaration of Peace. These names fully express the result that August 8, 2025 brought. The peace established between Armenia and Azerbaijan is visible and tangible to everyone.

In the parliamentary elections of June 7, 2026, the citizens of Armenia not only gave a vote of confidence to peace, but also stood up for peace. This, of course, does not mean that we have reached the final destination on the path to implementing the peace agenda.

The "Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and Interstate Relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan," initialed by the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan in the presence of the three leaders on August 8, 2025 in Washington, is awaiting its signing and ratification. The demarcation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan has yet to take place. We are all very concerned and worried about the imprisonment of our compatriots in Azerbaijan.

But it is obvious that August 8, 2025 is a boundary line, and we can divide the history of the Republic of Armenia into before and after it. Before August 8, 2025, our state was in a dead end, and after August 8, 2025, limitless prospects have opened up before us, and to use it or not depends on our collective will, our knowledge, and our ability to learn the world and our history.

This is precisely the greatest political and socio-psychological result of the Washington Peace Summit: the wheel of our history has once again appeared in our hands. This does not mean that the path is perfect and without dangers, this means that our decisions are the primary factor determining our future destiny, and this is a historical turning point.

The past period and the results of the National Assembly elections are convincing us that we can, we are capable, as a state and people, to take charge of our destiny, and for this I want to thank each and every one of you, dear citizens of the Republic of Armenia.

One of the most important results of the Washington Peace Summit is the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” (TRIPP) project, which will not only end the blockade of Armenia in the very near future, will not only become the axis of the economy of Armenia and the region, but will also help Armenia and Azerbaijan begin to perceive each other not as an obstacle, but as a path, as neighbors. In the near future, we will begin the practical implementation of the TRIPP project, and this will become a major regional and international event.

Dear people, dear citizens of the Republic of Armenia,

In the near future, we will begin the practical implementation of the TRIPP project, and this will become a major regional and international event.

Dear people, dear citizens of the Republic of Armenia,

The page of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan is closed, peace has been established, and it is right before your eyes, your life and everyday life. Establishing any peace is not easy, and establishing our peace was not easy either. But destroying and nullifying any peace is extremely easy, and it can be done very quickly, and the question is whether in that case it will be possible to establish peace again after 35 years.

Today, many, some intentionally, some unintentionally, act with the logic of destroying peace, and this activity is sometimes disguised under a harmonious or “patriotic” smokescreen. I want to say without any hesitation that in order to make peace irreversible, it is necessary to stop talking about the right of “return of Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh” and “return of Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan,” and to stop talking about the right of “return of Western Azerbaijan and Western Azerbaijanis” in Azerbaijan.

This is an issue that needs to be addressed in both Armenia and Azerbaijan for the sake of the right of our generations to peaceful coexistence. This is the right that we must embody and pursue today, and we must be able to overcome any narrative that contradicts this.

I thank President Trump for his undeniable efforts in establishing this peace.

I congratulate the people of Armenia on the occasion of August 8.

I congratulate the people of Azerbaijan on the occasion of August 8.

Finally, we have a day that pacifies us and not inflames us.

And may all the victims of the conflict rest in peace. Never again.

Long live peace.