Pashinyan sees potential for Armenia-Azerbaijan environmental cooperation

Armenia sees broad opportunities and potential for cooperation with Azerbaijan on environmental issues.

Operative Information Center-OMM reports that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan spoke about the issue during discussions held in Yerevan on the sidelines of COP17.

Pashinyan said signing a peace treaty with Azerbaijan could give fresh impetus to cooperation in this area. He said natural resources, including rivers, as well as environmental and biodiversity protection, connect countries across the region.

“The environment and biodiversity bring countries together and create a basis for shared interests. There are broad opportunities and potential for cooperation in this area,” Pashinyan said.

Armenia’s prime minister expressed confidence that the parties would devote greater attention to these issues in the near future.

Speaking about relations with Türkiye, Pashinyan said he hoped for historic changes, despite the absence of diplomatic relations between Yerevan and Ankara. In his view, Armenia and Türkiye have opportunities for cross-border cooperation, including on water resources.

Pashinyan noted that a reservoir built during the Soviet era is located on the border and that the parties already have experience cooperating in this area.

A summit on the sidelines of COP17 was held in Yerevan on October 16. The 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP17) is scheduled to take place in Yerevan from October 19 to 30, 2026. Preparatory events and the “Green Zone” are due to begin on October 18.