RA Prime Minister: Armenian people elebrating First Republic Day in  completely new historical context

ArmInfo. The Armenian people are celebrating First Republic Day in a completely new historical context. This was stated by RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the military parade dedicated to the holiday on May 28.

According to him, peace has been established between Armenia and  Azerbaijan after 35 years, the very peace that was lacking during the  First Republic for the preservation and development of the state. Its  absence led to the South Caucasus states, which declared independence  one after another in 1918-1920, losing it one after another in 1920.  Today, as Pashinyan noted, the point is that the Republic of Armenia  must exist forever. "This means that in all situations, we must focus  on the interests of the state, and peace is the state's interest, its  security, freedom, and well-being. The state becomes an instrument of  the people's security, freedom, and well-being," the RA Prime  Minister noted.

He added that the further institutionalization of peace, lifting the  country from the blockade, turning Armenia into a crossroads of  peace, coupled with the TRIPP program, and ensuring the security,  freedom, and well-being of the Armenian people are priorities for the  country's authorities. To achieve this goal, education, the  development of which is recognized as a "strategy of the strategy,"  the head of the Armenian government noted.

He emphasized that today, the Armenian army is not a factor of war,  but of peace. A weak armed force can be attractive to aggression. "We  cannot afford this, and it is a great honor for us to present today,  on the Day of the First Republic, the results we have achieved since  2022. Today, at the parade, the people are presented with a new army,  new military equipment, new uniforms, and a new ideology. Until 2022,  the global arms market was closed or restricted to Armenia because  international partners refused to sell weapons to Armenia, fearing  that the country would use these weapons outside its internationally  recognized borders. Only after the agreements reached in Prague on  October 6, 2022, in accordance with which Armenia and Azerbaijan  recognized each other's territorial integrity in accordance with the  Alma-Ata Declaration, did the international arms market open up to  the Armenian state," Nikol Pashinyan said.

He noted that equipment and weapons produced by seven countries will  be on display at the parade.  The expansion of the supply geography  is also a result of the "Real Armenia" ideology. It is also important  that the parade will feature weapons and military equipment produced  in Armenia itself, which are taking their first steps on the  international market. Since 2022, the RA government has allocated  approximately 170 billion drams to the development of the country's  military-industrial complex, and today the first results are already  worthy of pride.

The Prime Minister once again assured those gathered that today the  Republic of Armenia is independent, free, and secure as never before.

It is worth noting that the parade in Republic Square was commanded  by Chief of the General Staff of the RA Armed Forces Eduard Asryan,  and inspected by RA Defense Minister Suren Papikyan.  This is the  first time it has been held in 10 years. The parade will feature  equipment manufactured in Russia, India, France, Iran, China, and  several other countries.