Nikol Pashinyan: Peace for Armenia and Azerbaijan?
The Interview
BBC
4.3 • 537 Ratings
🗓️ 13 August 2020
⏱️ 23 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
One of the worlds most strategically sensitive conflict zones heated up dramatically last month when Armenian and Azerbaijani forces engaged in fighting which cost 17 lives. It is the latest twist in the long struggle over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh and it prompted warnings from Moscow and Washington. Stephen Sackur speaks to Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. He swept to power promising reform, so how come Armenia seems preoccupied with fighting old battles?
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Welcome to Hard Talk on the BBC World Service with me, Stephen Sacker. |
| 0:04.2 | My guest today is the Prime Minister of Armenia, Nicole Pashinian, a former journalist and political prisoner, |
| 0:11.0 | who led a peaceful revolution in 2018 which saw the longtime ruling party overthrown and then comprehensively beaten in subsequent parliamentary elections. |
| 0:22.6 | Mr. Pashinian promised a new beginning for Armenia, a former component republic of the Soviet Union, |
| 0:28.6 | which occupies a strategically sensitive position bordering Turkey, Georgia, Iran and Azerbaijan. |
| 0:36.6 | It seemed possible that Armenia's political revolution might just herald the beginning of the end of the long-running conflict with Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. |
| 0:48.6 | But it hasn't worked out that way. |
| 0:50.8 | Serious military clashes last month cost 17 lives. Bellico's rhetoric has been ramped up in |
| 0:57.0 | both Yerevan and Baku. But Armenia is wrestling with other challenges too. It's been badly hit by the |
| 1:04.6 | coronavirus pandemic. The economy is in trouble and there are strategic pressures coming from |
| 1:10.2 | Russia, Turkey and Washington. |
| 1:12.6 | Have the high hopes of Armenia's Velvet Revolution already been dashed? Well, Prime Minister |
| 1:19.8 | Nikol Pashinian joins me from Yerevan now. Welcome to Hard Talk. Thank you. Hi. |
| 1:25.9 | It's more than two years now since you swept into power with very high hopes for the so-called |
| 1:33.3 | Velvet Revolution. When I look at Armenia today, it seems many Armenians feel that those |
| 1:39.0 | hopes have been dashed. What has gone wrong? I wouldn't agree with your impression because all Armenian, all citizens of Armenia, |
| 1:48.9 | they are sea and they are living in democratic country. In 2019, we had biggest economic growth |
| 1:57.7 | in Europe and we had big economic success and our country made tremendous progress |
| 2:07.6 | in all international ratings in terms of democracy, freedom of speech, independent judiciary, |
| 2:15.6 | anti-corruption policy, and international magazines, |
| 2:20.3 | two years in a row recognized Armenia as a country of the year, like not only in terms of democracy, |
| 2:29.3 | but in terms of economy as well. Yes, of course, the pandemic situation interrupted our fly, but we will continue. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.