The Armenian People Have Never Been and Will Never Be on Their Knees. I Am Ready to Sacrifice for Our Homeland, Prime Minister

The Armenian people have never been and will never be on their knees, and we will not give up an inch of our homeland. This was assured by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during his speech in the National Assembly while addressing Azerbaijan's recent actions towards Artsakh.

Pashinyan noted that there is essentially nothing strategically unexpected about what has occurred. "Because, in fact, the context of this story is as follows: a problem was posed and continues to be posed to our people, a choice is being placed and will continue to be placed, essentially to abandon the rights of the people of Artsakh or to face war. I want us to firmly state that throughout this period, Azerbaijan's position has essentially been this: either we abandon the rights of the people of Artsakh, the rights of the Armenian population of Artsakh, the right to self-determination, or we get war. And this context today brings us to such a conflict," the Prime Minister said.

Pashinyan emphasized that the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian people must stand firmly and unequivocally in defense of the rights of the people of Artsakh and, in general, the rights of the Armenian people. "It is not an exaggeration to say that this is yet another and perhaps the most important stage of our millennia-long struggle for existence," he stated.

He stressed that the Armenian people must stand firmly on their feet and defend their right to live on this sacred land. He noted that as the Supreme Commander, he is not here to talk about what our soldiers and generals are prepared for. "Today, I am here to say what I am prepared for. I am ready to sacrifice for our homeland; the Armenian people have never been and will never be on their knees. The Armenian people must stand on this land with a strong backbone and a clear mind. And when we say that we are all soldiers, and when we applaud those words, we are saying one thing: young or old, official or unemployed, today we have only one message to send to each other and the world. We must look each other in the eye and say: we are ready to sacrifice for our homeland, we will not give up a single millimeter of our homeland, we will not give up our rights by a single millimeter. We must win because we have no option to lose. The Armenian people must exist forever, the Republic of Armenia must exist forever, Artsakh must live and Artsakh must be self-determined, independent, self-sufficient, strong and proud, as it is today, as it has been," Pashinyan emphasized.

The Prime Minister noted that today’s session is about unity, determination, and victory. "Prepare yourselves for victory, prepare yourselves for dedication, prepare yourselves for sacrifice because this is a decisive time. And we are more united than ever. Therefore, long live freedom, long live the Republic of Armenia, long live the Republic of Artsakh, and long live us and our children, who will live in a free and happy Armenia, a free and happy Artsakh, glory to the Armenian army, glory to the Armenian soldier," Pashinyan concluded.