Today, the important goal is to ensure stability and security around Armenia and Artsakh: Prime Minister

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has issued a statement in which he noted, "Dear people, proud citizens of the Republic of Armenia, proud citizens of the Republic of Artsakh, proud Armenian diaspora. I again address you this way, because especially in these difficult days, it is very important to maintain our national pride and our national dignity, because pride and dignity are easy to maintain when they are not under attack, when nothing threatens them, but it is even more important to maintain them when dignity and pride are subjected to numerous attacks.

Especially in recent days, we see that well-known groups within Armenia, along with external forces - and they have been acting for quite a long time along with these external forces, the external forces that you know - have made it their main task to inflame the wounds of our national pride and dignity. For instance, yesterday, some initiated a literal feast against the backdrop of false rumors that the government of Armenia has ceded territories from the Gegharkunik region to Azerbaijan. Such behavior may have a myriad of explanations, criticism of such behavior may have countless counterarguments, some may have meant nothing malicious in jumping on the bandwagon, but we must extract the primary aim of those who initiated this feast from all of this: There are people and groups in and out of Armenia who are trying to create an impression of lawlessness, to create the impression that there is lawlessness in Armenia, who are trying to sow chaos in our country, they simply want to shift the war inside Armenia, to put the country in a free fall state through the use of automatics and criminal groups in order to ensure their return as saviors.

I want to make it clear and unequivocal: we will not allow this, not because we are clinging to power, but because the people do not want this, the proud citizen of the Republic of Armenia, whose pride is yes, wounded, but not destroyed, whose dignity is yes, injured, but not dead.

Dear compatriots, now I want to describe in detail what is happening in and around Artsakh. I have already spoken about the November 9 statement and the circumstances of its signing. I do not want to repeat what has been said before, but I must reaffirm my belief that in the situation in which the document was signed, there was simply no other option, because any other option would have been much worse.

Another issue is why we reached such a point, how we got there, under what circumstances and timelines we reached, where this point started from, what developments it experienced, what stages it had. These are questions that must be answered, and I am the most interested in getting these answers. But this is a detailed and prolonged work, while today we have urgent and immediate issues. I mean, the answers to those questions will still be examined, found, but today we have urgent questions, and the most important of those is to ensure security and stability around and within Armenia, and one of the necessary steps for that, however unpleasant it may sound, is to implement the November 9 agreements.

Many forces have based their political activities on condemning the November 9 statement, but they do not say whether they propose abandoning it, the agreements found therein, and if so, what scenario they envision after that, and what consequences that scenario will bring.

Continuing my point, I want to emphasize that what is happening these days is part of the process of implementing the November 9 statement. And this process, please pay attention, also implies that the armed forces of Armenia should be deployed on the state border of the Republic of Armenia, that border which we know as the border of Soviet Armenia, I am now specifically speaking about the area of Karvachar. Moreover, that border is defined not by eye measurement, but by GPS coordinates. And as has been explained, the Sotk mining site has been located half in the territory of Soviet Armenia and half in the territory of Soviet Azerbaijan. In general, boundary delimitation is quite a complicated process and whether we like it or not, it should take place not only with the participation of Russian peacekeepers but also with representatives of Azerbaijan. And every time panic is created in the public about this work, misinformation and a sense of chaos are spread for one purpose: they want to, I repeat, transfer the war to Armenia because they are used to coming to power in blood and maintaining power in blood.

But I repeat, we will not allow this, the people will not allow this. And I also want to emphasize that Armenia's law enforcement agencies fully control the situation, and the law enforcement agencies will not allow this either. And I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the law enforcement officers for their work during this time. We are talking about the staff of the National Security Service, the Police, the State Protection Service, Investigative bodies, and the Prosecutor's Office.

But returning to the topic, I want you to be assured that we are making every effort to protect the interests of Armenia and Artsakh in this difficult situation. And by the way, the vision of chaos is also spread for this purpose, so that the government cannot focus its utmost efforts on addressing many urgent questions, and all this aims to create a gap between the government and the people, which by the way, they have not managed to do so far. The people, yes, have questions, the people, yes, are sometimes bitter and angry, sometimes disappointed and sometimes lose hope. But amidst all this, I see the people's trust and I want to thank you for that trust.

In these days, there is a lot of talk about the fact that the people have lost faith in the official media and the justification brought is that allegedly during the war the government and I were providing erroneous information to the public. However, the reality is completely different. At the start of the war and throughout my speeches during it, I have said practically everything about the war, I said a bit differently - in ways and forms specific to warfare - I said it in such a way that it would not give the enemy so much information that could become unacceptable and a threat to our security.

Or did the official bodies not say that battles are taking place near Hadrut, did they not say that battles are taking place near Martuni, did they not say that battles are taking place near Shushi and Karintak, did they not say that the Lachin-Stepanakert highway is closed, did they not mention the formation of self-defense groups in Syunik? What did all that mean? Or how else should all that have been said - with cries of despair, calls to flee and save oneself, or by creating a sense of panic? Yes, it has also been said about the heroism of our army, soldiers, officers, and generals. And isn't that false? The military operations took place from Sotk to Horadiz. I hope I can imagine this entire plan. From Sotk to the Haterk area, despite losing positions in the early days of the war, those positions were recaptured along the way, and until the last day of the war, the front line in that area was completely intact. In the Yeghnikner area, until the last day of the war, the adversary, in fact, had no significant success. In the 6th defensive area, despite the loss of Talish, the lines were maintained until the last day in the Mataghis area. The 5th, 4th, and 3rd defensive areas maintained the front line almost to the last day. The 2nd defensive area maintained the front line until the end and regrouped according to the situation of the war. The same can be said for the 1st defensive area. But what are those soldiers, officers, and generals who held the situation there, if not heroes? What they did, if not victorious, resilient behavior? These people fought heroically, they are heroes, and yes, I went to the November 9 decision also to save lives, to prevent their encirclement, because these people selflessly and heroically served their homeland, went through incredible sacrifices for the homeland. And saving the lives of nearly 35,000 soldiers, officers, generals was, yes, also a duty to the homeland.

Heroic fights were also fought by our thousands of soldiers, officers, and generals in the area of the 9th defensive sector. But unfortunately, the 9th defensive sector was breached, leading to disaster, and the general who, through his illegal interventions, bears at least half of the responsibility for that failure, is now giving press conferences and making so-called disclosures, forgetting to mention that during his time, a criminal case was launched by the National Security Service at least in one instance for 42 million dollars embezzlement and in another instance, there is an investigation ongoing regarding the purchase of useless weapons.

He targets my wife, forgetting to ask the question: what was the member of the Prime Minister's family doing in a bombarded city where 70% of the population has left their place of residence? In other words, was Stepanakert a Baden-Baden sanatorium that the presence there is attempted to be presented as an incredible example of the authorities' opulence? Was personally delivering bread and water to the residents trapped in bomb shelters a crime? I had no idea. The one-time visit of the member of the Prime Minister's family, at the behest of the Prime Minister, to the command post of the Defense Army to morally support the Defense Army at a time when this army is continuously receiving news that people are leaving their homes in the rear, this in these circumstances of sending a member of the Prime Minister's family so that people see that a member of the Prime Minister's family is in Stepanakert, what kind of behavior is it to turn it into a political matter? And some were recalled from Stepanakert due to the panic spread and illegal interventions brought about by the tragedy, and these issues, according to order, will still be clarified.

But this is not the main message of what I want to say. The essence of my message is that throughout the war, the truth was said to the people, told in ways specific to war. It was said with faith and purpose - to break and change the situation every minute, and for that, the fighting spirit must be nurtured, and even about the losses, it should be announced in a way that does not break the soldier fighting that soldier, the soldier whom I was talking about who maintained their position, their line until the last moment.

Dear people, proud citizens of the Republic of Armenia, proud citizens of the Republic of Artsakh, proud Armenian diaspora. Talking about the past is important, and we will still have opportunities to do that. But today it is much more important to speak about today and the future. About today's and future issues and goals. Today, the important goal is to maintain the peace that has been achieved, to make it last, and if we can make it permanent - even better. Today, the important goal is to ensure stability and security around and within Armenia and Artsakh, to ensure the security of Artsakh. To ensure the uninterrupted and safe operation of the Lachin corridor, to ensure the conditions for the return of the Armenians, to restore Artsakh and Armenia, the affected areas. And for this, it is necessary, I repeat, it is necessary to implement the agreements of November 9. These agreements also include the exchange of prisoners and the bodies of the fallen. From these agreements also stems the activation of the search for the missing persons, which is an extremely important issue for all of us, and every hour, every minute can be fateful. In these days, I have met with hundreds of relatives of the missing, captured soldiers. I have heard all of their demands and complaints. They are right, and we must act quickly, but I repeat, unfortunately, it does not depend only on us.

Yes, there are nuances in the November 9 agreements that contain problematic issues, but around all these issues, active diplomatic work is currently underway, and we will definitely find solutions. But these agreements also involve reopening transportation communications in the region, an issue whose resolution will change not only the character of the region but also that of Armenia.

Dear people, do not succumb to fear and panic. Do not allow our wounded pride and injured dignity to be trampled. Do not give in to the propaganda of hopelessness. Yes, believe only and only the official information. They deceive you every day. The truth, no matter how bitter it may be, we have never hidden from you. Yes, during the war, the truth was said in accordance with the rules of war. Review what has been said from the first day, and you will see that the entire truth has been presented, the whole truth has been stated - according to the rules of war, but an attentive reader and listener could read everything there. The truth was also stated, by the way, during my meetings with parliamentary and extra-parliamentary forces, and I clearly told them during those meetings that I invited them to tell everything because all that I told them cannot be said publicly due to the wartime situation, but I also do not want it to seem that we are hiding the truth. And by the way, those forces that from the first day of the war said that they must stop this by any means, after exiting here initiated other processes, saying, yes, let them stop at any cost, then we will see how we will use this for our political purposes. And today they feel very bad and are surprised that they are not succeeding.

But nonetheless, our primary concern today is to build the future. But first, we must return the bodies of our fallen, pay our respects to them, return our captives, and we must find those guys who may be hiding in the action zone - anywhere. We must ensure the uninterrupted operation of the Lachin corridor, we must ensure the return of the Armenians, we must solve the most urgent and knotty border issues, which may raise new noises, but we must go down that path. We will inform you about everything in detail - as much as possible without harming our interests - I mean the interests of the Republic of Armenia and Artsakh.

But be confident in one thing: we are completely honest with you and in front of you. But it does not mean that we are flawless. This does not mean that we are right in everything; it does not mean that we have not made mistakes and will not make mistakes. But we are completely honest with you and in front of you about everything. And we will overcome this trial, we will overcome together. My respect to all our martyrs and their families. My respect to the proud citizens of the Republic of Armenia, the proud citizens of the Republic of Artsakh, the proud Armenian diaspora. Our pride is yes, wounded, but not destroyed; our dignity is yes, injured, but not dead. Long live the Armenian people!"