“I believe in the power of democracy — for the sake of peace, freedom, and happiness.” Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan concluded his speech this way at the second “Summit for Democracy” organized by US President Joe Biden.
Armenia was one of the 120 invited countries. The Prime Minister delivered his statement in an online format. The bulk of the 3.5-minute speech was about the blockade of the Lachin Corridor and the security of Artsakh and Armenia.
Pashinyan recalled that in September 2022, Azerbaijan invaded Armenia’s sovereign territory: “In September, we again felt the unity of democracy and the clear condemnation of the attack against Armenia.”
Armenia’s Prime Minister thanked the US and other partners who, in his assessment, helped halt the further invasion.
Addressing human rights violations, Pashinyan also spoke on this platform about the danger of genocide and ethnic cleansing in Artsakh: “What is happening to Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh today — Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin Corridor and the humanitarian crisis that has resulted — is unequivocally an attempt at ethnic cleansing of Armenians in NK. And we cannot close our eyes to it. At the same time, I reiterate that Armenia remains committed to the peace process with Azerbaijan. We are convinced that peaceful development in the region has no alternative, and that remaining committed to democratic values will help us find the path to peace.”
Speaking about democracy, the Prime Minister listed the reports and international rankings according to which Armenia has improved its positions: “Despite global and regional challenges, Armenia consistently continues to implement its democratic reform agenda. As a result, our country has improved its positions in various global rankings. Freedom House has ranked Armenia as a ‘free’ country in its annual ‘Freedom on the Net’ report. Armenia has also registered unprecedented progress in the 2022 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders, improving its position by 12 points. Last year, Armenia improved its position by 7 points in the democracy index published by the Economist Intelligence Unit.”
Armenia is participating in this summit for the second time. This year, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Iran, North Korea, and Russia again did not receive invitations.
