The Trilateral Statement of November 9, 2020 and the Washington Declaration of August 8, 2025 should only be compared within the context of the period in which each was signed. This view is shared by political analyst Tigran Grigoryan.
According to him, if we compare the November 9, 2020 agreement during the period when the Lachin corridor ensured a connection between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, it is evident that the November agreement was more favorable at that time.
“At that time, Nagorno-Karabakh was still populated by Armenians, and a certain new status quo had been formed. However, once Azerbaijan began dismantling this status quo—by blocking the Lachin corridor, blockading Nagorno-Karabakh, and ultimately carrying out ethnic cleansing—it became meaningless to speak of the advantages of the Trilateral Statement of November 9,” Grigoryan noted.
He stated that if one looks only at Article 9 of the November 9 Trilateral Statement, which concerns the unblocking of regional communications, and compares it with the content of the Washington Declaration, the latter contains several advantages for the Armenian side.
“In particular, the declaration explicitly sets out the principles of territorial integrity, sovereignty, and jurisdiction of the parties. Meanwhile, the problematic wording on ‘unimpeded passage’ migrated into the Washington Declaration from the November 9 Trilateral Statement,” the expert emphasized.
In Grigoryan’s assessment, comparing these documents is difficult, because the primary subject of the November 9 agreement—Nagorno-Karabakh—no longer exists. In his view, it is unrealistic to talk about implementing the terms of the November 9 agreement, since under current conditions it is impossible to restore Nagorno-Karabakh, ensure the return of its population, or reopen the Lachin corridor.
Nevertheless, if the comparison is made within the context of different time periods, then the November 9 agreement was more favorable only during the time when Nagorno-Karabakh existed and the connection with Armenia remained uninterrupted.