On the occasion of the 33rd anniversary of the formation of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited the Ministry of Defense. First, a march was held with the participation of the Armed Forces units, followed by a solemn session with the involvement of the highest officers of the Armed Forces.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan delivered speeches. In his remarks, the Prime Minister, in particular, noted:

"To the Honorable Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia,
Honorable Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Deputy Ministers,
Gentlemen, Generals and Officers, Ladies and Gentlemen Servicemen,
Dear Guests,

I congratulate all of us on the 33rd anniversary of the formation of the Army of the Republic of Armenia. First, I would like to thank you, those present and all our absent service members, for your service to the Republic of Armenia. I want to thank all the members of your families who encourage you to carry out this demanding mission with honor and without fail. In my opinion, your family members serve you equally, regardless of whether they wear a military uniform or not, and their service also deserves excellent appreciation.

Today, we bow and kneel before all our martyrs. And we must always return to the question of what is ultimately the most direct and correct way to honor the memory of our martyrs. I have offered the answer several times, and I am convinced of that answer: it is a developed, prosperous, safe, free, and happy Republic of Armenia. There cannot be a more glorious monument to our martyrs, and we must also reflect on them and how we honor their memory.

I apologize for the slight digression. Yesterday, we were present at the opening ceremony of a vital medical institution, which, in addition to the state budget, was also financed by a foundation that the Diaspora Armenian family created to honor its ancestors and perpetuate their memory. I am sure that during this time, they also funded monuments to their ancestors, a significant and essential ceremony in our tradition. Still, at some point, they decided to honor and perpetuate the memory, to make vital, life-sustaining, people-serving investments.

Let's emphasize appreciating the merits of our martyrs and our service members because, Ultimately, the goal is for both the martyrs and the army, the Republic of Armenia, to be safe, developed, prosperous, and happy. In this regard, I want to look at the perception that we have had towards our army from the first days of the creation of our republic, and even more so later, from one perspective.

But first, I want to apologize to our army, service members, and soldiers. Now, I will explain why. All leaders want and need to be patriotic, all politicians want and need to be patriotic, all citizens want and need to be patriotic, and all celebrants wish to and need to be patriotic. However, the problem is that we place all the responsibility for our patriotism on the soldier. We place the responsibility for everything and everything on the soldier. We hide the shortcomings of our state-building and say, "Well, the soldier will do his job." To fill our shortcomings in foreign policy, we say, "Well, the soldier, and therefore also the officer, the army must do its job." To fill our economic gaps, we say, "Well, it's done for the soldier; the soldier will do his job." We often place unbearable burdens on the shoulders of the soldier and the army, and these burdens are formed by the desire of all of us to be patriotic everywhere and everywhere.

But what am I proposing? Am I proposing not to be patriotic? Of course, I am not proposing such a thing. I suggest that our model of patriotism should place responsibility not only on the army and the soldier, not only on the army and the soldier, but on the contrary, all layers of our society and state should bear this responsibility, each to their extent, and our object of patriotism should be such that it does not sacrifice the soldier, does not sacrifice the army.

I often propose the slogan "The Homeland is the State" because this model will allow us to develop the state and, second, not place unbearable burdens on our soldiers and the army. We must declare very clearly that we are adopting the model of patriotism that offers our army and our soldiers a particular task: to maintain and protect the security of our internationally recognized borders and our territories. And this is the model on which we must build our new, renewed, updated defense-capable army. This is the foundation on which we must implement the concept of army transformation, which is already in the hands of the Ministry of Security and has been approved by the Council.

This is the basis on which we must clearly set the task that, yes, servicemen in the Republic of Armenia must have sufficient, decent material security. This is the basis on which we can emphasize that military service is also work, which must ensure the well-being of servicemen's families. This is the path that will not give anyone the opportunity to question our legitimate right to have a defensive army.

And by the way, it is precisely thanks to the adoption of this concept that we have managed to diversify our relations in the security sphere. Otherwise, we do not have that opportunity, and those present know about it very well. Therefore, it is essential that the Republic of Armenia, politicians, the Government, and the public become specific in their model of patriotism because the model of patriotism that we adopt falls on the shoulders of the soldier, the military, and the army shoulders. We need to know what burden we are placing on the shoulders of our army; we need to understand whether that burden is bearable or unbearable.

To their credit, our military never grumbles, and I am sure they never will, but we should not use their strong and dignified posture to place unbearable burdens on their shoulders. We should not use our patriotic responsibility to place it on their shoulders and make them a target.

Therefore, the Government, the public, and the state should set before the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia only the task of protecting and securing internationally recognized territories. And on this basis, yes, we are implementing deep reforms of the army, and we will have a strong, capable army. In this case, no one will be able to question our right to have a capable army; no one can question our right to have a prosperous military, and no one can ask for a strong right to have a state, a prosperous and developed state. For that state, I have said and want to say again that the existence and consciousness of the officer class are key.

We must also record this: Yes, the army, the Armed Forces, and the officer class are the pillars, the backbone around which the state is built. Yes, it is right to say that we should not hide the shortcomings, but we should not hide the failures of the army, the Government, the public, or the private sector.

It is also unfair that everyone notices the army's shortcomings, but it is said that you see the thorn in the other person's eye, but you do not see the log in your eye. This is our path: to see the shortcomings of the army, but to see the connection between the failures of the army and the weaknesses of each of us because the army does not come out of thin air; the army is formed in kindergartens, schools, neighborhoods, and work collectives. There is not a single problem in the army today, not even a single defect that was not born outside the army. Such a problem does not exist. All the problems of the army were born outside the army; all of the issues, something else—those problems can come to the army, develop a little, transform, but there is no problem that the army owns, that we can say the army created this problem. There is no such problem.

All the problems come to the army from society, from our families, our homes, our neighborhoods, our schools, our kindergartens, our parties, our weddings, and from our ways of relating to each other, and this we must understand and this we understand, because you must know that the Government understands this.

I do not want to create the impression that there is a problem in the army, regardless of who is involved, that we do not feel in our own skin. Especially in a position where you are busy with these and many other daily problems, it is simply impossible not to touch them.

Today is the 33rd anniversary of our army in the National Security Strategy, which will change and transform shortly. Still, by our decision, we have included the military in our state's first lines and national values. Yes, the army is a state value; for me, the first is the Republic of Armenia, statehood, independence, and the backbone of that statehood - the army, the armed forces, and the military and the armed forces are people first and foremost. People should feel appreciated, respected, and dignified.

Thank you all again for your service. You should know that we are proud of you and rely on you. I am sure that together, we will make the Republic of Armenia, with its 29,743 square kilometers, a safe, developed, happy, protected state. And we will. We are on that path together.

Glory to the martyrs, and long live the Republic of Armenia."

On the occasion of Army Day, Nikol Pashinyan awarded a group of servicemen of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia the Prime Minister's commemorative medal for their contribution to the security and defense of the homeland.