Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan used his October 9 address to the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) summit in Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan, to defend the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process, promote the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), and argue that the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration provides the basis for relations between the two countries.

“Peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan is an established fact,” Pashinyan fellow leaders, while pointing out that humanitarian issues remain unresolved. According to Pashinyan, the two countries had gone more than two years without casualties or injuries resulting from exchanges of fire, bilateral trade had begun, and a 12-kilometre section of their border had been delimited and demarcated. He added that Armenia and Azerbaijan had “achieved the impossible” and needed to protect the outcome every day. The prime minister nevertheless remarked that peace remained incomplete. He identified the fate of missing persons, mine clearance and detainees as outstanding humanitarian issues, and noted that negative rhetoric sometimes continued in both countries, including among officials.

Pashinyan placed the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration at the centre of his argument. The document, adopted as the Soviet Union dissolved, recognised the territorial integrity and existing borders of the former Soviet republics. He emphasized that it had become central to the Armenia-Azerbaijan delimitation process and to the text of the peace agreement initialled in Washington on August 8, 2025.

In his speech, Pashinyan also acknowledged Russian President Vladimir Putin’s role in securing the November 2020 ceasefire, but maintained that the ceasefire itself had not established lasting peace. Pashyain noted that the process changed after he and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev reaffirmed the Alma-Ata principles at their October 6, 2022 meeting in Prague, initiated by French President Emmanuel Macron and then-European Council President Charles Michel.

TRIPP was another major theme. Pashinyan highlighted that implementation on Armenian territory was expected in the near future and would enable transport links between mainland Azerbaijan and its Nakhchivan exclave through Armenia, while also improving Armenia’s own domestic and international connectivity. He stressed that these routes must operate with respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and jurisdiction of the countries concerned.

Pashinyan also signaled the possibility of a railway linking the Persian Gulf with the Black Sea through Iran, Nakhchivan, Armenia and Georgia. Such a route, he stated, would open new north-south and east-west transport opportunities for the region, including other CIS countries. Pashinyan also anticipated the reopening of the Armenia-Türkiye border and the restoration of road and railway links between the two countries.

Pashinyan also congratulated Uzbekistan on taking over the CIS chairmanship in 2027 and thanked outgoing chair Turkmenistan for its work during the year. He praised the organisation’s cultural programme in the Avaza National Tourist Zone, where the summit was held, and the infrastructure built in the host area.

Meetings on the sidelines

Pashinyan arrived in Turkmenistan on October 8 and President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, discussing the development of political, trade and economic relations. He also met Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, with their talks on expanding trade and economic ties and promoting regional cooperation following the establishment of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

On October 9, Pashinyan met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. The two frequent high-level contacts, Iran’s involvement in strategic projects in Armenia, and plans for reciprocal visits. Both sides expressed confidence that bilateral relations would reach a new level in the near future.

A brief informal conversation between Pashinyan and Putin also on the sidelines of the summit. Video published by Armenian media showed the two speaking while standing together. Before travelling, Pashinyan had said no formal meeting with Putin or Aliyev was scheduled, although he expected they would have opportunities for contact.

Russian newspaper Kommersant subsequently reported that Pashinyan, Putin and Aliyev had held an unannounced closed-door meeting. However, Pashinyan’s spokesperson Melanya Harutyunyan that a meeting in that format had taken place. No official trilateral meeting was announced.

The summit’s main outcome for Yerevan was therefore political rather than a new agreement: Pashinyan used the gathering to present peace with Azerbaijan as established, claiming that the process must continue through border delimitation and regional connectivity, and put emphasis on TRIPP as a project that could benefit Armenia and its neighbours.