Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan took part in the International Summit for Freedom of Religion in Washington.
In his speech, Pashinyan noted that Freedom of religion is an integral part of democracy, since it means not only human right to his own religious beliefs, but also tolerance to the views of others.
“Democracy cannot be without religious freedom, because being free means to be free in the perception of God and religion. But, on the other hand, freedom means tolerance to the religious views of others, and one without the other can lead to religious fanaticism and extremism “, The Armenian leader said.
Speaking of the regional context, Pashinyan emphasized the importance of religious tolerance, since three of the four neighboring countries of Armenia – Iran, Turkey and Azerbaijan – have mainly Muslim population, while both Christians and Muslims live in Georgia.
“Fortunately, despite political and ethnic disagreements, we have a good tradition of religious tolerance and respect in our region. This makes a strong world and stability in the South Caucasus more realistic,” Pashinyan said.
According to him, Armenia hopes to turn existing regional disagreements into a dialogue, and freedom of religion may become one of the tools to achieve this goal.