Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev discussed further steps toward implementing a U.S.-backed regional connectivity project and advancing peace between the two countries as they met in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on Monday.
The meeting, the first between the two leaders since Pashinian was reelected prime minister following his party’s victory in the June 7 parliamentary elections, took place on the sidelines of a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
Pashinian campaigned in the elections on a platform of continuing efforts to build lasting peace with Azerbaijan after more than three decades of conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh that included two deadly wars over the disputed region.
Less than two years after Azerbaijan militarily forced ethnic Armenians out of the region, Yerevan and Baku initialed an agreement on the establishment of peace and interstate relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan at a Washington peace summit on August 8, 2025.
Pashinian and Aliyev also signed a joint declaration, witnessed by U.S. President Donald Trump, regarding the establishment of the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), a land connection between mainland Azerbaijan and its western exclave of Nakhichevan via southern Armenia.
The offices of the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders issued virtually identical statements on the talks, which were also attended by senior officials from both sides.
According to the Armenian prime minister’s office, Pashinian and Aliyev discussed further practical steps related to the implementation of TRIPP and stressed the importance of connectivity projects within the framework of this initiative.
The two leaders also emphasized the role of their respective state commissions on the delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the importance of continuing their work in line with agreements reached between the two countries.
“Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and President Ilham Aliyev agreed, through direct bilateral engagement, to continue the steps to further consolidate lasting peace, advance the normalization of interstate relations, and strengthen connectivity,” the statement said.
Both sides highlighted the export of Azerbaijani petroleum products to Armenia, the transit through Azerbaijan to Armenia of grain and other goods originating in third countries, and the establishment of trade relations between the two countries as “important practical manifestations of the dividends of peace.”
Pashinian and Aliyev also welcomed contacts between the two countries’ business communities and discussed opportunities for expanding “mutually beneficial” economic, trade, and energy cooperation.
The two leaders also positively assessed confidence-building contacts involving parliamentarians and civil society representatives, saying they “contribute to strengthening mutual trust and supporting the broader peace agenda.”
