Dear compatriots,
Dear people,
I congratulate all of us on the 77th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War. This holiday symbolizes the end of World War II and the beginning of a new era in human history.
With the victory in the war, civilized humanity said no to one of the greatest evils, fascism. The role of the Armenian people in that is invaluable, of which more than half a million representatives made a significant contribution to saving humanity from fascism as soldiers of the Soviet Army and allied armies.
Many Armenians sacrificed their lives for the sake of civilization in that struggle, showing heroism, unwavering devotion.
We had more than 300,000 casualties in World War II. 107 Armenians were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, many of our compatriots fought in the armies of the allied countries, participated in the anti-fascist struggle of a number of countries and were crowned with glory. Today we bow to the deeds and memory of our heroes, our martyrs, we are proud of the heroism of our ancestors.
It was the heroic spirit of our grandfathers and fathers in the Great Patriotic War, World War II, that merged with the spirit of volunteerism in the early 1990s, becoming the guarantor of the victory in Artsakh struggle for survival, the First Artsakh War, the liberation of Shushi.
Today, after the 44-day catastrophic war, we note with sorrow and bitterness that not only we failed to transform the victory in the first Artsakh war into a diplomatic, political, economic victory, but many fruits of that victory are lost, Artsakh and Armenia are facing serious challenges.
Our response to this situation, however, should not be apocalypticism, but a sober, cold, professional analysis of the reasons underlying the current military-political and regional situation, and the pragmatic planning of the future.
The blood of our martyrs who gave their lives to the Motherland should not be forgotten; the greatest acknowledgement of their work should be the strengthening Armenian statehood, full realization of the rights of the Armenians of Artsakh, peaceful development of our generations and peaceful regional coexistence, which is the only reliable security guarantee of Artsakh and Armenia.
The political majority that received the people's vote is leading Armenia in this direction, realizing all the difficulties that will emerge. We are ready to face these difficulties because we are guided by the conviction that yes, we are moving in a difficult but the right way.
We are not the begetter of the disasters on our country, we have deserved a cruel fate and a sacred mission: to lead our Homeland through the inevitable disasters that have accumulated for many years, to lead it to a peaceful, prosperous, happy future.
Dear people,
Dear compatriots,
We have not always been able to turn victories on the battlefield into victories in life. We must be able to turn our failures on the battlefield into victories in the fields of education, science, industry, economy, foreign policy, the ultimate outcome of which must be lasting and stable peace, a comprehensive settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Today we bow to our grandfathers, our fathers, our brothers and our children who fought for the Motherland and sacrificed their lives. Their victories in wars, our failures in wars must become the victory of life.
Eternal glory to our heroes.
