Various Speculations Arise About Gathered People at Republic Square, Says Prime Minister

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan arrived at the Republic Square. He requested a moment of silence to honor the memory of our brothers and sisters who fell in the Artsakh war, as well as the victims of the March 1, 2008 events.

Initially, Pashinyan addressed circulating rumors that people had gathered at Republic Square using administrative resources. He stated, "Various speculations have started and will continue regarding the claim that 'the people here are brought in.' There is only one way to respond to this question: the unity of this square from the first row to the last. On this first day of spring, we should show that we are as we have always been."

Pashinyan acknowledged that Armenia has made many mistakes throughout its history of independence and has exhausted its opportunities. He admitted that he has also made mistakes during his 2 years and 10 months in office, and he apologized to the citizens of Armenia, the Armenian diaspora, and all citizens of Artsakh for all the mistakes he made.

He mentioned that he has thought a lot about where he went wrong but considers it important to ask why their political team made those mistakes. "Strangely enough, one of the main reasons for our mistakes has been our popularity as a government. We were so well-liked that, in trying to justify that love from the people and our love for the people and our homeland, we wanted to do everything precisely and perfectly. The pursuit of perfection often led to inaction. Sometimes, given the situation, the choice between bad and worse was unavoidable, but we refused to make that choice, thinking that the people did not bring us to power to present them with the bad or the worse," he remarked.

Pashinyan noted that as they tried to create a choice between good and the best, they found that the presence of bad and worse was so entrenched that the choice became inevitable, making the only best choice the acceptance of the lesser evil.

The Prime Minister emphasized that, unfortunately, mistakes have been made not only by his administration, and he extended his apologies for all the mistakes made by all administrations of the third republic. He reiterated that the people will always be the deciders: "The people's power is being sought to be taken away, and we have gathered here in the square to say that we will not allow this," added Nikol Pashinyan.