NKR President’s message on the Day of Victory, the Defense Army and the Liberation of Shushi

Dear compatriots,
Dear veterans of the Great Patriotic and Artsakh Liberation Wars,
Respected generals, officers and soldiers of the Defense Army,

On behalf of the Republic’s authorities and personally myself I cordially congratulate you on the Victory Holiday, the Day of the NKR Defense Army and the Liberation of Shushi, a holiday that aggregates the victories of our people and has become a symbol of heroism and courage, selflessness and patriotism, a holiday that both glorifies our past and illuminates the future, serves as a landmark for the generations teaching them how to live and create, love the Motherland and defend it.

On this festive day we honor and bow our heads to our hero fathers and grandfathers who hand in hand with other peoples of the Soviet Union won the Great Patriotic War. We bow our heads to the brave sons of the Armenian nation who carved the victory in the Artsakh Liberation struggle defending the right of our people to live free and independent on their own soil.

Today we can proudly state about another great victory – our young generation, our modern heroes who continue their ancestors’ traditions with dignity, weaving new myths and legends in the battlefield. The selfless soldiers of the Defense Army stand firm in their positions and keep impregnable the Artsakh Republic borders.

Dear compatriots,

All our victories are the triumphs of unity and consolidation around the idea of defending the Motherland facing danger. I am confident that this spirit will always guide our people and we will celebrate more victories. This is the best way to keep alive the memory of our martyrs. This is the only true path to eternity, this is our only way.

I once again congratulate all of us on this glorious Triple Holiday and wish peace and new successes to our country and people.

Emil Lazarian

“I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small tribe of unimportant people, whose wars have all been fought and lost, whose structures have crumbled, literature is unread, music is unheard, and prayers are no more answered. Go ahead, destroy Armenia . See if you can do it. Send them into the desert without bread or water. Burn their homes and churches. Then see if they will not laugh, sing and pray again. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a New Armenia.” - WS