“On the occasion of the Victory and Peace Day from the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, we bring our Patriarchal blessing to our people in Armenia and the Diaspora. May 9 is a day of precious memories for us, when we commemorate the feats of our people’s children in the Second World War and the heroic struggle in Artsakh.

The glorious victory achieved in the Great Patriotic War is the testimony of the united and united struggle of the peoples against fascism, against injustice and evil. Our people made an important contribution to this victory.

For decades, this day has also been marked for us by the victory of the Artsakh struggle for survival. Today, when Artsakh is occupied and depopulated, we are obliged to continue pursuing the protection of the rights of the depatriated Artsakh Armenians. These events of the past should keep us firm and steadfast in the way of realizing our visions of building a strong and safe state.

The Day of Victory and Peace should remind us of the unity, brave spirit and sacrifice of our heroes for the sake of the nation and homeland, for the sake of peace, demonstrated by our people in those difficult days. This sacred day should also strengthen our zeal and commitment to care for war veterans, the families of the dead and the missing.

We pray for the souls of the Armenians who gave their lives in the Great Patriotic War and the Artsakh War, whose patriotism is still an inspiring example for generations to live, create and fight for the love of our native country with the same responsibility and dedication.

We pray to the Most High to ask for peace for the world and prosperity for the peoples. May the Risen Lord, under the auspices of His Right Hand, keep our homeland and all people safe and secure, strong in hope and faith and united in love.

Grace, love and peace to our Lord Jesus Christ and all of us. Amen,” the message reads.

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Despite the heavy losses, the Armenian people can straighten their spine and move forward. Today, in a conversation with journalists at the “Erablur” military pantheon, the head of the Armenia faction of the National Assembly, former minister of defense Seyran Ohanyan said, referring to the May holidays.

Ohanyan reminded that the victory in the Great Patriotic War became the basis for the further stable development of the Armenian people.

“Our contemporaries multiplied that victory holiday in 1992, turning it into a three-day holiday, but at the hands of today’s corrupt RA authorities, that holiday turned into just one holiday again. The enemy has appeared within the borders of the Republic of Armenia, but the fight is ahead, because the Armenian people have proven that they have the spirit of struggle and can straighten their spine and move forward,” said the opposition figure.

However, the head of the faction stressed that they continue to pay tribute to both the representatives of the older generation and the modern heroes sleeping in the “Yerablur” military pantheon. Speaking about the current realities, Ohanyan noted that today’s visits are also a kind of “sad report” in front of the memory of the victims, because Artsakh was completely depopulated.

To the question of how he will interpret the statement of the leader of the ruling political force, Nikol Pashinyan, that “Artsakh was never ours to lose,” Ohanyan answered, recalling that on May 9, 2018, the same Nikol Pashinyan gave a speech in Artsakh, saying that “Artsakh is Armenia, and that’s it.”

“He said that the Velvet Revolution not only does not threaten the self-determination of Artsakh, but also opens perspectives for determining the Armenian fate of Artsakh and recording it de jure.

Later, however, he did nothing or contributed to Azerbaijan’s attack on Artsakh. During the war, he did nothing to protect Artsakh and keep the RA borders strong,” said Ohanyan.

He emphasized that Artsakh was self-determined before Nikol Pashinyan and was able to ensure its safe and stable development together with Armenian and RA.

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If people consider that Artsakh was not theirs, perhaps there is some truth in it. The former president of Artsakh, Samvel Shahramanian, made this statement in the “Yerablur” military pantheon.

Nikol Pashinyan, the prime ministerial candidate of the “Civil Agreement” party, announced yesterday in Syunik, speaking about Artsakh. “Those territories were never ours.”

“Yes, we also consider that this behavior shown by the current government, of course, Artsakh was not theirs. Nikol Pashinyan declares that they are a very effective government, because they brought Armenia out of the clutches it was in as a result of the Artsakh movement.

In order to be effective, the government must have a plan, implementers of that plan, perhaps this is what Pashinyan means when he declares, “We are an effective government,” because they implement such a plan without deviation,” said Shahramanian.

The former Minister of Artsakh emphasized that they also want peace with their neighbors, but it is a different question, what quality and at what price will this peace be achieved. According to Shahramanyan, peace can be in a degraded status, which is also a matter of choice. He believes that this election will be decided in about 1 month in the parliamentary elections.

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The Republic of Artsakh did not have a customs service, so all import and export taxes were paid to the RA state budget, a part of which was later transferred to Artsakh as an interstate loan. Samvel Shahramanian, the former president of Artsakh, said this at the “Yerablur” military pantheon, referring to Nikol Pashinyan’s statements.

Nikol Pashinyan, the prime ministerial candidate of the “Civil Agreement” party, announced yesterday during the pre-election meetings in Syunik that we were deceived that we live badly for Karabakh. He also said: “At the expense of Armenia, pensions and salaries in Karabakh have been high, and those people who forget this are renegades and are grateful.”

Shahramanyan emphasized that the Republic of Armenia, as the guarantor of the security of the Republic of Artsakh, also supported financially, but it is not as if financial resources were not generated within Artsakh. The money from RA was given to Artsakh as an interstate loan.

“It does not mean that we were sitting there like freeloaders and benefited only from the money provided by the taxpayers of Armenia or the state budget. The Republic of Artsakh did not have a customs border with the Republic of Armenia and did not have a customs service, and in that direction all taxes were paid to the state budget of the Republic of Armenia. What was leaving Artsakh, what was entering Artsakh, the only way was through the Republic of Armenia, and quite a lot of taxes were accumulated in the state budget of the Republic of Armenia.

We had mining, agriculture, various productions, which during export and import, these taxes were generated to the RA state budget, a part of which was paid as an interstate loan,” said Shahramanyan.

At the same time, he reminded that Artsakh was a protective shield for Armenia, and it is clear that everything should be done to make that shield strong.

“How can we say that we kept you, you lived well there, it has nothing to do with reality,” said Shahramanyan.

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There are problems in the Armenian-Russian relations, but Armenia should never forget the age-old friendship between the two peoples, the ties in cultural and other fields.

Arman Tatoyan, the leader of the Wings of Unity party and candidate for the prime minister, said this in a conversation with journalists in the “Haghtanak” park.

“We have tens of thousands of citizens who go and earn their daily bread in Russia, we have compatriots living there. There are problems in relations with Russia, they are not easy, and we should never look at them as easy relations, we should understand them in all their complexities. Were the problems caused by the policies of these authorities? Yes, they happened because of them, but we also have questions for the Russian side,” Tatoyan said.

According to him, there are still pending questions, the answers to which are necessary, but they are the result of the failed policy of the Armenian government.

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