Georgian Parliament Speaker hails historic Armenia‑Azerbaijan peace deal

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Monday hailed the signing of a peace declaration between Armenia and Azerbaijan, calling it a “historic moment” that would benefit all three South Caucasus countries and improve the well-being of their peoples.
Papuashvili’s comments came after the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia on Friday signed an agreement aimed at ending decades of conflict as they were hosted by President Donald Trump at the White House.

Speaking to journalists, the Speaker emphasised that the decades-long conflict had been a heavy burden on the region, affecting populations, national economies, and investment attractiveness.

“This was a heavy burden on our region, which affected our population, our country, investment attractiveness, and so on. That’s why Georgia has always been the biggest supporter of a peace agreement and the establishment of lasting peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and we are very glad that this agreement has been reached”, Papuashvili said.

“I personally congratulated the Speakers of both the Azerbaijani and Armenian parliaments on achieving this agreement. They know that we have always offered that as soon as a peace agreement is signed, the way opens for political formats - including inter-parliamentary formats - to develop trust between the countries, politicians, and parliamentarians. Georgia will also contribute in this regard”, he continued.

He also underlined that for decades the conflict had been overseen by the OSCE format, dominated by EU member states, but without tangible results. He pointed out that the US President Donald Trump had been able to leverage his political will and influence to facilitate the resolution of the conflict “within days”.

“It is important that President Trump was able to use his political will and weight to end this conflict within a few days. Every step that brings peace and stops war, of course, weakens the deep state, since the war party is exactly the deep state”, he concluded.