Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited the Atlantic Council in Washington, where he delivered a speech and answered questions from John Herbst, Senior Director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center and former U.S. Ambassador to Uzbekistan and Ukraine.
"Peace in the South Caucasus is possible," Pashinyan stated, adding that additional or genuine efforts from the new U.S. administration could prove effective.
Discussing the U.S. role in the peace process, Pashinyan noted that his government had closely followed Donald Trump’s campaign and observed that a peace agenda was important to him, RFE/RL reports.
Pashinyan also emphasized that his party is striving to change international perceptions of Armenians.
"Armenians traditionally present themselves as victims, and the international community is used to perceiving them as a suffering nation. Sometimes, it becomes confusing—what is the cause, and what is the effect? At times, it seems that the international role of Armenians has become to fall victim, as if there is nothing else for them to do, and there is an international consensus on this. We are trying to change this fate for our people," Pashinyan said.
On February 1, Nikol Pashinyan and his wife, Anna Hakobyan, traveled to the U.S. to participate in the 5th Annual International Religious Freedom Summit and the National Prayer Breakfast.