We Are Conducting Negotiations Aimed at Normalizing Relations Between Armenia and Turkey: Pashinyan

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addressed the nation on the occasion of the 107th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. “Dear compatriots, today we pay tribute to the memory of the victims of the Great Armenian Genocide. 107 years ago, the Armenian people faced the inhuman catastrophe of genocide. The aim of Ottoman Turkey was to exterminate our ancestors. 1.5 million Armenians were killed, and hundreds of thousands fled to various parts of the world, making it difficult today to find a place on Earth without an Armenian population. The Armenian people suffered irreparable losses to their cultural, spiritual, and religious heritage; thousands of schools, churches, and monasteries were destroyed.

Despite the inhuman atrocities, our people managed to stand tall, preserve their identity, and restore independent statehood over the past century through unity, dedicated work, and consistent efforts. This became the greatest proof of our people’s vitality. Dear compatriots, the denial, distortion, and failure to confront the historical facts of genocide and crimes against humanity, along with the leniency of the international community, give rise to new atrocities and crimes. The civilized world and the international community have much to do in this direction to prevent such crimes from happening again, valuing human life above all else, regardless of national belonging. The recognition and condemnation of genocide are what should stop new crimes.

I want to emphasize that Armenia will continue to actively contribute to the international community's efforts to prevent genocides and crimes against humanity, and to combat discrimination and intolerance based on ethnic, religious, and racial grounds. The agenda for the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide must serve to reinforce Armenia's security guarantees. This agenda will not be aimed at increasing regional tension, but rather at defusing the situation in the region.

Dear compatriots, the Genocide is the most tragic chapter in the history of the Armenian people. It is an occasion not only to commemorate our innocent martyrs and bow our heads before them but also to reflect on our history—past, present, and future. It is a moment to assert that the Armenian people should have more and more opportunities and levers to manage their own destiny, shifting it from the domain of others’ decisions to that of our own decisions. The most active expression of such a situation is independent statehood, with all its institutions having maximum capability, decision-making capacity, and mechanisms.

This understanding has led us to an agenda for opening a peaceful development era for our people and the region because the most effective tool for ensuring our security is a strong state and peace. We must follow this path. This is also why we are conducting negotiations aimed at normalizing relations between Armenia and Turkey. We hope that the aspirations of the Turkish side are sincere and that we can move forward in this direction.

At the same time, our current task is to build a dignified and established democratic state by harnessing the potential of the entire Armenian community. The mobilization of community potential and capacities must be consistently directed towards this goal. The Armenian statehood is the most impressive way to honor the memory of the victims of the Great Genocide and all our martyrs, and it must become the symbol and guarantor of the unwavering will of the Armenian people to live. This will symbolizes the April 24 popular march to the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial, which is a promise to our ancestors and future generations of a Free, Strong, and Happy Armenia. That promise must be fulfilled; that covenant must be realized. This encapsulates the deepest significance of April 24,” the message states.