News - Armenia PM at Tbilisi Silk Road International Forum: Without roads it will be very difficult to build peace

We all know the phrase "Silk Road" from school textbooks. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated this in his address at the Tbilisi Silk Road International Forum Thursday.  “Many people, I am sure, do not remember many details about the historical holes and events of the Silk Road times. But the historical term ‘Silk Road’ is associated in all of our minds with prosperity, peace, development, cooperation, because the Silk Road crossed through many countries and settlements, and these roads were used to create human, cultural, economic and political ties, were a means for the peoples and the countries to better know one another,” Pashinyan added. He stressed that, “People transported not only goods through those roads, but also stories, customs, traditions, knowledge, skills. The road connects not only countries and cities, but also people, and hence, while a vibrant, active road is a sign of cooperation, peace, and success, then closed roads are an indication of problems.” “We know this through our own example. Our roads are open with two of our four neighbors, which indicates that our relationships with them are friendly. Our roads are closed with two of our neighbors, The roads with two of our neighbors are closed, which is clearly telling of existing difficulties in the relationships. But I did not come today to tell about our difficult relations, rather I am here to say that without roads it will be very difficult to build peace,” the Armenian PM said.