President Serzh Sargsyan’s televised New Year message

Dear compatriots,

I congratulate you on the occasion of New Year and Christmas.
Throughout the past year, we have continued our progress, have continued to build, reconstruct and develop as a society and as a state. Let us confess that it all has been done in a complex geopolitical situation.

2014 was marked by turbulent events happening in various corners of the world. Unfortunately, those storms have not calmed down yet. Just one year ago perhaps few people could imagine such a rapid escalation of events and their negative outcomes.

The primary task of Armenian authorities has been to keep our people and our country away from those storms, maintain peace in Armenia and Artsakh and ensure their security and stability. Rarely have we managed to fully guard ourselves against aggravation of various negative trends because we constitute one part of the world. No matter how small we consider our country to be, we are a part of the world.

Dear compatriots,

The last year was characterized by an unprecedented exacerbation of tensions on our borders. This is the reality we live in. Our army carries out all its tasks creditably and with a high level of professionalism. I have no doubt that today, upon gathering around the New Year table, we will definitely raise our glasses in a toast to our soldiers and officers, wishing them “Good service.”

We are entering the year 2015. The year, of course, is symbolic. We are going to properly organize the events dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Mets Eghern. Together we will do it with dignity. We will mark the victory of life over death, emphasizing the heroic and glorious path of our people. We will emphasize our people’s will and effort to survive, revive and to be liberated. We will also stress the rich harvest Armenian genius has yielded for the world throughout the past centenary.

Dear compatriots,

External circumstances may turn out differently; really important and decisive is what we are going to do for our families and our country. We can do better and we do it step by step. We will develop our economy under new conditions, by making use of the opportunities that will open up in the near future. We will continue along the path toward a free, safe and prosperous Armenia. With God’s blessing, we will continue to triumph through living and creating.

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!