President Vahagn Khachaturyan's message on the Army Day

Dear compatriots,

Distinguished soldiers and officers,

I congratulate you on Army Day and the 31st anniversary of the formation of the Armed forces of the Republic of Armenia.

The Armenian army was created alongside the formation of our statehood and independence, and from the moment of its creation, the highest calling and mission of the army was one, to guarantee and protect the security of the borders of our Motherland and our citizens, and above all, to ensure peace in our country.

Throughout the past decades, our Armed forces have gone through tough ordeals, tasting both the joy of victory and the bitterness of losses, but the ultimate objective of our army has always remained the same – to ensure peace for our people. Thousands of Armenians sacrificed their lives for the sake of having a peaceful, safe and protected Motherland. I bow to their memory.

Dear compatriots,

We are celebrating the 31st anniversary of the Armed forces at a rather crucial time for our statehood. The wounds of the 44-day war are still open, our enemies continue their aggressive rhetoric, and we, as a state, can oppose them only with a modern, well-established, strong and professional army.

Surely, we still have a lot of work to do regarding the transformation and reforms of the Armed forces, yet what’s more important is the principles and concepts that will be our guidelines. These ideas are clear: peace, protection and security of our country's borders and sovereignty. And to achieve these objectives, the army needs the unequivocal support of ours, the citizens of Armenia, as it is not a self-sufficient and independent structure, it is a condensed reflection of our society and the result of the crystallization of state thinking.

Dear soldiers and officers,

Once again, I congratulate you on Army Day, wishing you peace, endurance and strong will.