Acting Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan met with President of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Arayik Harutyunyan at the Government of Armenia. This is the first Pashinyan-Harutyunyan meeting since the June 20 snap parliamentary elections of Armenia and Pashinyan's July 7 working visit to Russia.
Nikol Pashinyan – Honorable Mr. President, I welcome you at the Government. This is our first official meeting since the early parliamentary elections of Armenia and it's very important to formulate our upcoming activities. We have passed a very difficult path together, I am speaking about the Republic of Artsakh, the Republic of Armenia and our people. And in the days of hardship, the burden and honor of leading our people falls on our shoulders, and we must fulfill our mission with honor.
Of course, we have talked much about the circumstances of what happened. And there are still some circumstances about which we will still have the opportunity to speak. I think it's very important to emphasize that during the pre-election campaign I clearly formulated the task for examining the detailed circumstances of the 44-day war and it's important that we manage to establish a format and organize the works in a trust-worthy way, because answers to very important questions must be given.
But I consider it important to note that after the 44-day war, we have made quite serious efforts to restore normal life in Artsakh. During this time we had dozens of working meetings, some of which were covered, some of which were not covered by the media. And frankly speaking, I am very pleased with the level of our cooperation, the decisions that have been made so far, I think, are quite effective.
I hope our compatriots in Artsakh feel the effectiveness of those decisions, but, of course, in the near future we have to discuss strategic programs, I mean in the social-economic sphere. Of course, the issue of Artsakh's status remains on top of our agenda. And we should record that after November 9, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs issued a statement, in fact, recording that agenda as a working agenda. And we, too, must clarify what we have to do here, try to adopt a certain strategy in the new situation, point out the ways to achieve our goals.
I welcomeyou again, I am sure that as a result of today's discussions we will give a new impetus to the programs that are already being implemented, we will formulate the upcoming projects.
Arayik Harutyunyan – Honorable Mr. Prime Miister, first i would like to thank for the reception. I also want to wish success during your leadership of the Republic of Armenia based on receiving the people's trust during the elections. I am confident that the programs we have discussed will contribute to the social-economic development of Artsakh. We have to consolidate the Armenian nation around Artsakh.
Of course, over the years, decades, the Armenians have always supported Artsakh, but today, more than ever, we need great unity, and we will succeed.
I want to confidently state that today the socio-economic problems in Artsakh are being solved, and the social programs implemented by the Armenian government have definitely brought Artsakh out of the state of shock. Today's social policy allows us to state with confidence that there is no family that has not been in the spotlight, and definitely all this was possible only and only due to the funds provided by the Armenian government, while the money raised by the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund has already started to be spent on housing and infrastructure development. Today Artsakh is a big construction site. The programs must be continued, first of all, housing, which is our main task. Today the problem of apartments in Artsakh is so severe that it is not enough to build one apartment a day. In order to implement our plans, we need to build at least 4-5 apartments a day. We want to present this program to the Armenian people so that every Armenian can participate in housing programs in the coming years.
But of course, the main issue of Artsakh is security and status. And fortunately, the principle in terms of the status has not been changed by the OSCE Minsk Group and it's the same as it was before the war. We must strive to keep it on the agenda. All your statements, our statements that Artsakh's independence pasth is not subject to discussion, show that we must continue our struggle. As for security, I want to assure you that the situation is kept under control jointly by the Defense Army and peacekeeping forces. Geography is really complicated, but fortunately it was not a serious concern. Harvesting is going on today, there are no problems or obstacles. Infrastructure restoration works are underway along the current line of contact.
