President Sarkissian met with the representative of the Georgian-Armenian community

President Armen Sarkissian, who is in Tbilisi to attend celebrations dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Frist Democratic Georgian Republic, on May 26 visited the diocese of the Armenian Church in Georgia the Saint Gevorg Church. The President met also with the representatives of the Armenian community of Georgia.
Addressing the audience, President Sarkissian said that he has arrived to Georgia as a representative of the Armenian people to congratulate our Georgian friends on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of independence.

Armen Sarkissian reminded that the first government of the First Armenian Republic was created in Georgia and the Declaration of Independence was born in this town which was the cultural, spiritual and political center of the Armenian nation.

The President said, “I will never forget the warmness and affection I see in your eyes. Today, as President I am here for the first time, but this is not going to be the last time; you will see me often and many of you often will be my guests in Yerevan. In the temple such as this one, one thinks of spiritual power, of the immortality of the Armenian spirit. We lived far away from our Fatherland for centuries, with no statehood but were dreaming of it. Nevertheless, we have preserved our culture for centuries, the Armenian faith, education of the Armenian children. We preserved all of it for this day. God guided us towards a free and independence Fatherland. And what we have in Armenia today, is the outburst of our spirit and culture that had been accumulating for hundreds of years.”

The President of Armenia spoke also about the recent changes in Armenia and noted that they create political and economic prospects for our country. Addressing those gathered in the Armenian Church, he said, “Each and every one of you can be proud today because Armenia has proved that it is one of those unique countries which can achieve immense changes, which many call a revolution, a velvet revolution…I would call it an Armenian style revolution, not a drop of blood shed. The time has come to build the Motherland we deserve.”

According to Armen Sarkissian, we are a small country but a global nation. We are global through our spirit, our culture, and the influence we have in the world. The Armenians of Georgia, who have been living here for centuries, have contributed greatly to the development of the Armenian culture. He said, “Tbilisi is a birthplace and home town for a vast layer of our culture which has many famous names. Huge contribution they have made to our culture and education make all us proud.”