News - Buric to Pashinyan: Armenia's "Crossroads of Peace" project can become important prerequisite for peace process

The Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, on Monday hosted the Secretary General of the Council of Europe (CoE), Marija Pejcinovic Buric. First, the PM welcomed Buric's visit to Armenia, and highlighted the latter’s collaboration with the CoE. At the ensuing meeting, they reflected on the course of implementation of the Armenia-CoE 2023-2026 Action Plan and the steps aimed at carrying out the agenda of democratic reforms in Armenia. In this context, Nikol Pashinyan emphasized the commitment and political will of the Armenian government. Touching upon the rich agenda of Armenia’s cooperation with the CoE, the premier underscored the role of the CoE in addressing the issues of Armenians forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh and providing international assistance to them. In turn, the CoE Secretary General thanked for the warm hospitality, and added the close collaboration between the CoE and the Armenian government, including toward implementing institutional reforms in Armenia. According to Marija Pejcinovic Buric, in this period full of challenges for Armenia, the latter’s government is effectively implementing reforms in various domains. The parties reflected also on the developments taking place in Armenia’s region, the process of normalizing of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations, and the chances of unblocking regional transport infrastructures. In this regard, PM Pashinyan presented the Crossroads of Peace project of the Armenian government and its principles. The CoE Secretary General, for her part, noted that this project can become an important prerequisite for the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process. The humanitarian issues of Armenians forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh, and the further measures of assistance by the international community to resolve these issues also were discussed at the meeting.