Many Letters Received After My Speech: Pashinyan

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan writes on his Facebook page: "After my speech today, I have received numerous letters asking how one can enlist to defend the homeland. Reach out to your local military commissariat, dear brother, and remember that the future of Armenia depends on one person, and that one person is you."

It should be noted that Prime Minister Pashinyan visited the Defense Ministry's N military unit and met with reservists heading to the front line. Welcoming them, the Prime Minister said, "Brothers, I would have loved to stand before you today and say that stability and peace have been restored in our homeland, and that the homeland no longer requires your military service but instead needs your civilian service. But that would not be the truth, because we are here today, you are here today, because the homeland does indeed need your service and that of each and every one of us."

He added, "Today we are in a situation where each of us must forget our previous civilian status, and we must all enlist in the service of the defense of our homeland. But I want you to know well what you will be occupied with, hundreds of kilometers away from your homes, your children, your relatives. You will be standing in positions to protect your children, your relatives, your wives, your parents, your doorstep, and your home. Where you are going, you may look around and not see any familiar tree or bush, but in reality, you will be standing in front of the doors of your children's bedrooms, in front of your own bedroom doors, in front of your children's schools, because you are going there to defend the homeland, so that there will be no need to defend your homeland. You are going there to protect your bedrooms, to protect the entrances of your bedrooms, to protect your entrances, to protect your buildings, to protect your yards. And we say, we will not allow the enemy to trample our land, our homeland, our borders."

"In the spring of 2016, I stood exactly where you are standing. In 2016, when I made the decision to go as a volunteer to defend the homeland, it happened in a mere moment. When I woke up in the morning and saw my still less than one-year-old daughter sleeping, I said that I must go to protect her peaceful sleep, and if necessary, I must sacrifice myself for the homeland so that my child, my neighbor's child, my friend's child, and my brother's child can live and win. And we will not falter, we will not retreat, we will not surrender, and we will stand in defense of our homeland."

"I want us to clearly record this and also talk about the current situation in the world. Today, many ask whether we have friends in the world. I want to assure you that yes, we do have friends in the world, but those friends will not make decisions for us. However, I want to say that those friends, our friends around the world, will defend our choice. If we decide to lose, they will defend our choice to lose. If we decide to win, they will defend our decision to win. And I am confident, I know that as a thousand-year-old nation, we have the will to make that difficult decision here today, and that difficult decision is the decision to win. I ask you, I call on you, I demand that you leave here with victory held in your heart, with victory held in your mind, with victory held in your soul. Remember that you are fighting for your children, that you are protecting your homes, your bedrooms, your neighborhoods, your buildings, your identity, your dignity, your masculinity, and you will win, and we will win."

"The Armenian people must exist on this planet forever. We exist today because of the victories fought for, forged, and held by people thousands of years ago at the cost of their own sacrifices. And today we are shaping not only our present but also our thousand-year future. And remember that you are the bearers of this mission, the bearers of history. And I want to say again that the future of Armenia, the Armenian people, depends on one person, and that one person is you, and that one person is you, and that one person is you, and that one person is you, and that one person is you, and that one person is you. And if each of us approaches our mission in this way, we will be invincible and we will win, if each of us understands that the future of Armenia depends on one person, and that person is themselves."

"I love all of you, I am proud of all of you, I bow before all of you, I believe in all of you and each of you, I believe that you are heroes, I believe that you are winners, I believe that you will dignifiedly protect the future of your children, our children. So, long live freedom, long live the Republic of Armenia, long live the Republic of Artsakh, long live the Armenian Diaspora, long live the Armenian Army and long live the victory of the Armenian people! Serve with honor, win with honor, thank you all!"