Eight Years Ago Today, I Sat in Sargsyan's Official Car for the First Time - Mikhail Minasian

“Serzh Sargsyan is one of the rare individuals—not only among the leaders of Armenia but also among those I have encountered throughout my life—who publicly admits his mistakes. This is a quality that is nearly unheard of in our political culture. Unfortunately, we are often willing to go to destruction rather than say, ‘Yes, we were wrong here,’” wrote former Ambassador of Armenia to the Vatican Mikhail Minasian on his Facebook page.

“I have never seen this as a weakness. On the contrary, it is a sign of inner strength, political maturity, and human greatness. Serzh Sargsyan is the only leader in Armenia who left power under the pressure of the people without plunging the country into internal conflict and bloodshed.

Of course, Serzh Sargsyan's mistakes do not vanish simply because he acknowledges them. But the admission of an error has value when it leads to a conclusion: to not repeat the same mistakes, to not succumb to ambitions, to rise above personal and team interests, and to be guided solely by state and national interests, rather than by force and persistent denial of reality.

I thank him for his principled stance, honesty, and inner fortitude.

P.S. Eight years ago, on this very day, I sat in Serzh Sargsyan's official car for the first time. That same car took him home for the last time from Baghramyan 26. One day, I will certainly tell about that day—how the inspired people bid farewell to Serzh Sargsyan, still unaware of what awaited him and the country. Eight years later, in a completely different country and under entirely different circumstances, I was again in that same car with Serzh Sargsyan,” Minasian wrote.