- 8 hours ago
Armenia, Azerbaijan peace representatives detail peace plan and new US-backed corridor
In an exclusive Euronews interview, Armenia and Azerbaijan’s top representatives publicly detailed how a once-unthinkable peace process has evolved into a shared strategy for stability and economic transformation.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/12/10/armenia-azerbaijan-peace-negotiators-detail-peace-plan-and-new-us-backed-corridor
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
In an exclusive Euronews interview, Armenia and Azerbaijan’s top representatives publicly detailed how a once-unthinkable peace process has evolved into a shared strategy for stability and economic transformation.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/12/10/armenia-azerbaijan-peace-negotiators-detail-peace-plan-and-new-us-backed-corridor
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Armenia and Azerbaijan surprised the world with a historic peace agreement
00:06after decades of tragic war.
00:09But the secret ingredients to what was called an impossible peace have never been made public.
00:14But now Euronews has the opportunity to sit down with two of the key actors to discuss it further.
00:20In this edition of Eurasia Talks, we're joined by Armin Gregorian,
00:24the Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia,
00:27and Hikmet Hadjev, the Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan.
00:35Gentlemen, thank you for joining us on this episode of Eurasia Talks.
00:39I wanted to begin by asking you, how did your first contacts happen
00:44and what made it possible to unblock the standoff that we've been seeing?
00:49Hikmet.
00:50Thank you, Jane, for the opportunity to talk.
00:53And I remember our first good days when we come together and discussing our agenda of the peace.
00:58It was right after the 2020 military engagement.
01:01We in Brussels had a good chance to meet and with the support and facilitation of our EU friends.
01:07But since that time, upon the instruction of our leaders, we had one concrete agenda,
01:12how we can advance the peace and also how we can put aside the disagreements that we had together.
01:17And Azerbaijan at that time, we over again demonstrated our good willingness and also initiative about a peace agenda.
01:25And with our Mayamanian colleagues also through other channels as well,
01:29we were discussing advancement of the peace agenda together.
01:32Armen, obviously with those discussions, you know, what was it that your leadership and yourselves,
01:38you know, how did you come to the conclusion that peace was possible?
01:43Armen, both in Yerevan and in Baku, I'm sure the leadership have been thinking how to bring peace and stability to the region.
01:52My prime minister have been publicly very intensively talking how much our society needs peace.
02:00And we have been seeing that there is the same will in Baku.
02:06And we have been intensively working to that direction.
02:09And here, I think the first meeting was 21-22 between me and TICMEC.
02:17And now we are sitting here and discussing how to institutionalize the peace,
02:22how to move forward in that context.
02:25So the success is great.
02:27And we are also celebrating that.
02:29We're here at the Doha Forum.
02:31And obviously, I heard you talking earlier.
02:33And I think, Hikmet, you referred to each other as colleagues.
02:36That's a bold step forward and a real positive thing to use that terminology with each other in this journey together.
02:42Yeah, really, indeed.
02:44Within the Armenian side and the Azerbaijan system of Washington,
02:48we are working on the concrete elements of the peace agenda that we have agreed in Washington.
02:53And Azerbaijan demonstrates its full commitment to the agenda that we have agreed.
02:58One of the important topics on our agenda is about the corridor.
03:01And again, we do hope that the corridor from the Azerbaijan side is considered a Zenggazur corridor
03:07and also a Trump corridor where we are working together for its implementation.
03:11We think that it will change completely the transport map of the Eurasian continent.
03:17And also in Armenia, Azerbaijan, bring us together and working together.
03:21And we'll also contribute to building a mutual economic dependence.
03:24And in a broader sense, it will also create the economic benefits of the peace agenda for both of our countries, for our broader region.
03:33But we also what we understood that peace is like a strategic commodity that we are delivering to the international community.
03:40But in the meantime, we cannot render ourselves to the comfort zone.
03:43And we know where to institutionalize and solidify the peace on the ground and to maintain it and also to bring it to the future generations.
03:51It requires a lot of hard work from both countries and also both societies.
03:56But in the meantime, what we see that in a full commitment from our countries to work on that dimension.
04:01What is the realistic timeline for finalizing this peace deal?
04:05The peace deal in Abu Dhabi discussions this year in Samma, we had an open and broad discussion with the Armenian side,
04:12my president and Armenian prime minister and also delegations that we are attending.
04:17We discussed an important competence, including the elements that are still on our agenda, outstanding issues.
04:24I think that we are on the right track towards a complete signing of the peace agreement.
04:31But more than that, what I would like to highlight that we have a real peace on the ground.
04:35What is an experience of international community shows that on many post-conflict situations and conflict situations,
04:40there are agreements and arrangements on the paper, but there is no real peace on the ground.
04:44But we have a real peace on the ground, de facto peace on the ground.
04:47We should solidify it and we should strengthen it and also bring it to the future generations.
04:51Arman, how would you describe the political relationship and atmosphere between the two countries?
04:57All the agreements that we had anywhere, all of them are in public.
05:02And the peace process that have been in a process for a long time.
05:11I mean, bilateral, we have been working towards the peace.
05:14And actually, we will continue working on that direction with Azerbaijan.
05:20First of all, to sign the peace agreement and ratify it.
05:24At the same time, we consider unblocking very much important.
05:29The big beautiful deal that we reached in Washington and now we are trying to implement is very much important.
05:37And part of that deal is Trump route for international peace and prosperity.
05:43The connectivity project that will bring economic benefit to the region.
05:49We are working on that direction.
05:51I hope we are now intensively discussing with Americans the project implementation of the trip.
05:59As soon as we finalize, we will start implementation project.
06:04I hope it will be very soon.
06:06And after that, the whole technical process will start.
06:12And we will work on that direction to unblock the region, to open the trip,
06:18which is a very huge and very important historical project in our region.
06:23So we continue to work on that direction.
06:25The Armenian-Azerbaijan peace agenda, we are also not acting in a diplomatic limbo.
06:30We are also looking at the international experience and international precedent.
06:34And Good Friday Agreement between the 1998 United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
06:39It also paved the way with the current status of the good relations between the two countries.
06:44We are also making certain precedent from that arrangements as well.
06:48And looking forward for the resolution of one outstanding issue.
06:51That's still a matter of the concern of the Azerbaijanis side.
06:54I think that once it's resolved, we will not have any longer any stumbling block on our agenda of the peace.
07:00But nevertheless, let me repeat it over the game that we have a real peace on the ground
07:04and currently working through the parameters of the strengthening of the peace.
07:08With world powers competing for massive regional economic opportunities,
07:14what are your strategies for each of your countries, Hikmet?
07:18Our strategy is not to make the region of the South Caucasus as an arena of the competition or the confrontation.
07:24Our agenda is to make the region of the South Caucasus as an arena of the cooperation,
07:28an engagement and a partnership.
07:30Think about Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agenda in the global context of the conflicts and wars,
07:35at least one success story.
07:36One chapter of the conflict is closed.
07:38There is a real peace on the ground.
07:40And we are also inviting all our international partners, including the global powers,
07:44to support our peace agenda on the ground, whether it's in connectivity projects,
07:48whether it's in a normalization within the two countries, and also new economic partnerships.
07:53And as Armenia and Azerbaijan, we are working on the fundamental concept of the economic benefit of the peace.
07:59I think that our international partners can also contribute to that.
08:03Look, it's very much important that the peace project is an inclusive process.
08:10We don't try to exclude anyone in order to let them to fight it.
08:15So this is a very inclusive process.
08:18In the context of the peace, we have suggested the peace crossroad project,
08:22which is about connectivity in the region.
08:26And within that context, by the way, TRIP is part for that project.
08:31And in that context, we are working to implement the project and see the regional partners engaging in that
08:40and seeing the unblocking of the region as an inclusive process.
08:45That's very much important.
08:47And I'm sure that will bring more stability in the region.
08:51And we don't see our region as a competing place because competition, in a good sense of that economic,
09:01from economic perspective, it's good.
09:03But from other perspectives, sometimes it can very firstly damage to the countries that are living in the region.
09:11So historically speaking, the region of the South Caucasus historically and unfortunately,
09:15it was in a battle space of the big empires and big powers.
09:19Now it's not related to the current state of the region, but now Azerbaijan at least from his side.
09:25And I certainly see the same willingness from the Armenian side as well to transform the region
09:29and to make it marketplace, investment place for the cooperation of everybody.
09:33What guarantees can you give the people of your country that this peace is going to last and their safety?
09:39I think that our signature, it matters a lot.
09:44And it was in front of the international community in Oval Office, my president,
09:48and he declared Azerbaijan's and over-declared and Azerbaijan's full commitment to the peace agenda.
09:53For us, wars and a conflict is over.
09:55And sovereignty and territorial integrity was a must for Azerbaijan.
09:58It has been restored.
09:59And therefore, such a full commitment to the Washington agenda that we have agreed,
10:05it's a demonstration of our important political will.
10:08And it's also a message to our society.
10:10And also, we have received a message from our society as well.
10:15Right after the Washington, there was a huge jubilation and also a positive reverberation in Azerbaijan's society about peace.
10:22And people also supporting that.
10:24The political establishment, both in Yerevan and in Baku, they have strong will for the peace.
10:31That was demonstrated before Washington, but also reconfirming once more in Washington, showing that there is a political will.
10:40We also see, as my colleague Hikmet mentioned, both in the society in Armenia and in Azerbaijan, there is support to the peace.
10:51We are sure that implementation of the regional projects like TRIP and other ones will increase interdependency and strengthen the peace and also economic benefits that both societies will have.
11:07It will have an input in the long run to sustain the peace and strengthen the peace.
11:13We are seeing that we are moving towards that direction.
11:16And the proof of that is also that me and Hikmet in Doha forum also sitting in your studio.
11:25Yes, sitting in your studio, speaking about the economic benefits of the peace signals that we will have long term.
11:37Well, you have both discussed the importance of that trip to Washington and there's a very famous handshake in front of President Trump.
11:46What was the atmosphere like in that room? Could you have heard a pin drop? You know, what was the feeling?
11:52It was really, as far as I can remember, it was really a jubileous atmosphere.
11:56And for the last 30 years, both of our countries suffered from the conflict and the war, and our peoples also suffered.
12:03And finally, we put a final nail to the coffin of this conflict. It's now over.
12:08And it was also, once again, a demonstration of a stronger political will and firm will.
12:13And in this case, we also highly appreciate the role of President Trump and American administration.
12:18They also put the political weight of the American government on their peace agenda.
12:23In the same manner, it also had a huge reverberation.
12:26And the spirit of the Washington has a huge reverberation in the Azerbaijan society.
12:30Nevertheless, there was a time difference between the Baku and Washington.
12:34This is that time, but the entire Azerbaijan society was waiting for that.
12:38And they were celebrating in the social media, in the media in Azerbaijan.
12:41In a sense, it's coincided with the public jubilation and also official full commitment of the Azerbaijanic government to the peace agenda.
12:51Think about one chapter of the conflict on the international stage is over.
12:54Amen, was it the same for Armenia?
12:56It was a celebration day.
12:58And, you know, it's a big, beautiful deal because everyone benefited from that.
13:04Armenia benefited, Azerbaijan benefited, United States benefited, and the international community, I'm sure, in the long run will benefit.
13:12That's why it's a deal, because all sides benefited, and it was a celebration.
13:17As Hikmet mentioned, the time difference between Yerevan and Washington is similar as in Baku.
13:25And people were staying late night in order to watch that.
13:29And I would be very frank, I have received so many messages in my WhatsApp and other application, people saying me thank you and celebrating that.
13:40It was very much obvious also in social media, as you can see that people are celebrating.
13:46Yes, there are people who have been also skeptic.
13:49Yeah.
13:50But the most important thing is that most of them, most of the public have been celebrating.
13:57And after that, we are seeing that the continuation of the dialogue, the continuation of the positive messages.
14:06For example, after the Washington meeting, both Vice Prime Minister of Armenia and Azerbaijan visited both Armenia to Azerbaijan.
14:16Lately, our Vice Prime Minister, Grigoyan, visited to Gabala region and had a meeting there.
14:23So all of these are signals and public are receiving it also positively and moving towards the peace.
14:30And I'm sure in the long run, people will also see the benefits, the economic benefits of the peace.
14:37We're here, as we mentioned, in Doha and the Qatari government have been very heavily involved in negotiations and mediations internationally.
14:46You know, how important and where do you see the future of that international involvement going in terms of, you know, the Qataris, the EU and the US?
14:58Well, we appreciate all international efforts that contribute to the peace agenda.
15:02But what was the beauty of Armenia-Azerbaijan agenda is that it was a bilateral process.
15:07There was a complete belief in the two capitals that first, Baku and Yerevan, we need a peace.
15:13And we need a peace for our future generations, for our peoples.
15:17And we started our active bilateral diplomatic engagement.
15:20It also brought us to the Washington discussions and some other agendas that we have.
15:25Again, we can highly appreciate the role of the international community, all of our partners.
15:29But Armenia-Azerbaijan, I'm sure that based on the confidence that we are trying to build
15:34and based on the mechanisms of the interaction we built, we'll continue to advance on our bilateral peace-building agenda.
15:40We very much appreciate international community support, but without that bilateral thing, that was very strong.
15:48And I'm sure that Abu Dhabi leaders meeting paved way for the Washington meeting.
15:55And that was a very great success in that context.
15:59And we very much appreciate also international communities engagement.
16:03We are here in Doha Forum, meeting with, having panel and also sitting down in this studio,
16:11speaking to the public and sending positive messages.
16:15In overall, that's also an effort coming from the Qataris.
16:19And they are very much helpful.
16:21And we very much, I'm sure I'm speaking on both of us that we very much appreciate
16:26that Qataris gave this platform to us to speak also publicly.
16:32And that's very much important.
16:34It's been a real symbolism of hope.
16:36What message do you think what you have achieved is giving to those around the world
16:41who are at war with each other?
16:45Well, it's always difficult to provide your own advice, but we can provide our own example.
16:52And here, I think that also in other countries, we demonstrated leading by example.
16:56And it wasn't really difficult and bloody war between the two countries.
17:00In the last 30 years, two countries suffered from the deficit of the security and the deficit of the peace.
17:06But with the political will and demonstration of the firm and stronger political will, peace is achievable.
17:12And as a result of the just peace has been ensured between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
17:17Now is the time and also the work of the two governments and the two peoples to make a long-lasting and irreversible peace on the agenda,
17:24on the global agenda and also the regional agenda.
17:27Therefore, peace is doable, peace is achievable, and it also requires full commitment to the norms and principles of international law
17:33and providing legality and legitimacy between the countries.
17:38Yeah, it's very difficult to find two conflicts that are totally similar, but you can find always some similarities.
17:46And one of the important things was that strong will both in Yerevan and in Baku was very much helpful in moving towards the peace.
17:55The leadership in both countries have been intensively working, even though a lot of difficulties, you can imagine.
18:02And in all conflicts, it's very difficult to move forward because of the problem also of trust.
18:09In all conflicts, sides don't trust each other.
18:12But we have been working towards this.
18:15As in famous music, it's said, another brick to the wall, in a positive sense of that quote.
18:25We have been working towards that, trying to build that wall of trust, trying to move in that direction.
18:33And it was very much helpful, bilaterally creating that trust and then also international community support.
18:41If you could send one message to the people of your neighboring country, what would that be?
18:47To continue working on strengthening the peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
18:55Yes, we went through the conflict.
18:58We went through the pain, both of us.
19:02And we need to understand also that there is a chance of peace.
19:08We have both to work on this direction, institutionalize the peace and work on that direction and also see the benefits of the peace.
19:22Hikmint, what would you send as your message to your neighboring people in Armenia?
19:27For Azerbaijan, war and conflict is over.
19:30Unfortunately, Azerbaijan works on the peace and we are sure and hopeful that there will be a reversible peace between the two countries
19:38and it will be eternal for the future generations of the both countries.
19:42And still, we have a certain balance.
19:44We understand that and we are at the end of the fact, but we should look into the future.
19:48Hikmint Armen, thank you so much for joining us on Eurasia Talks on EURU News.
19:52What a pleasure to see you both here today.
19:53Thank you so much.
19:54Thank you so much.
19:55Thanks for having us.
19:56You're very welcome.
Be the first to comment