Verelq: Pashinyan: No one from outside or inside can take the victory from the hands of the Armenian people

RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attended the graduation ceremony of the graduates of the 2017-2018 academic year at the Ministry of Defense.

The Prime Minister congratulated all the graduates on the occasion of graduating from educational institutions, receiving the rank of officer, and personally handed over the graduation documents to a group of graduates.

Addressing the audience, Nikol Pashinyan, in particular, noted: “What does it mean to be an officer of the Armenian armed forces, the Armenian army? it means dedicating one’s life to the cause of defense and security of the motherland, it means dedicating one’s life to the cause of peaceful life, restful sleep, peaceful living of compatriots. But the representatives of the armed forces, the officers, by ensuring the quiet life of others, they, in fact, sacrifice the quiet life of their mothers, their wives, and their relatives. They very often sacrifice the time they should have spent with their families, children, and friends for the sake of protecting the homeland. And so, as a result of all this, the question arises: what makes a person to assume these honorable shoulders, this high rank? I want to believe that the sense of mission, awareness of mission leads each of you to the rank and service of an officer. Tomorrow the Armenian army will no longer be the same as it was yesterday, because tomorrow the Armenian army will have many of you, the lieutenants, as serving officers, commanders, while yesterday the Armenian army did not have you as such, in that capacity. Also, tomorrow the senior officers will receive new appointments, with a higher status, while yesterday the situation in the army was completely different.

And so, I want, I hope, I am sure that each of you realizes that with your presence, your activity, your new status, you will change something in the army, and it is very important that each of you, with this awareness of the mission, clearly understands and realizes what is changing in the army and in what direction. I hope and believe that each of you goes to the new assignment with the awareness that the future of the Armenian army and the defense of the homeland depends on him, on that one officer, on that one person. Yes, each of you can change a lot within your reach, within your competence, and I hope that each of you strives for perfect service in your service and believes that you can create perfect service not only for yourself but also for others.

To be a commander is to be responsible to others and to be responsible for others, to be a commander is to have the will and determination to issue orders to die at the most important moment and this is a very heavy responsibility and this is a very powerful responsibility and this responsibility can only be borne by people with a really strong, unbreakable will. And I see in your eyes that you have the will not only to serve, but also to win, to bring victory to our people, our state, our homeland. I see in your eyes our future victories, I see in your attitude our future victories and therefore you I wish you a glorious service in the armed forces of Armenia, in the Armenian army, because our goal is one, our future is one, our present day is one. The Armenian people won the war, the Armenian people won in the construction of statehood, and the Armenian people won in establishing their power in their country, and no one from outside or inside can and will not dare to take that victory away from the hands of the people. And the number one, most important defenders of that victory are you.

And so, long live the Republic of Armenia, long live the Armenian army, long live the armed forces of Armenia and glorious Armenian soldiers and officers.”