USSR pursued goal of destroying those sprouts of independent state  that First Republic could have re- sprouted in our consciousness -  Nikol Pashinyan 

ArmInfo. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, together with President Vahagn Khachaturyan, President of  the National Assembly Alen Simonyan and the top leadership of the Republic of Armenia, visited the Sardarapat Memorial Complex on the occasion of the Republic Day.

The Prime Minister delivered a speech at the memorial complex, in  which he particularly noted:

"Honorable President of the Republic of Armenia, Honorable President  of the National Assembly, Honorable President of the Constitutional  Court, Honorable representatives of the legislative, executive, and  judicial branches, gentlemen generals and officers, honorable  servicemen, honorable guests,

Today we celebrate the Republic Day, which is associated with a truly  turning point in our thousand-year history - the establishment of the  First Republic. The First Republic, embodied in the heroic battle of  Sardarapat, did not have a long life; its existence lasted only two  years and a few months. 

But the First Republic turned us from a nation that had been  stateless for 4.5 centuries into a state-forming people, and for the  first time in our history, a state system was outlined - a Republic,  where the people of Armenia are the ones who hold power and decide  through elections who and how to govern the state.

The First Republic renewed, but did not strengthen our perception of  statehood, instilled, but did not uproot democracy and freedom in us,  because it did not have time for that.

And for almost the entire duration of the existence of the Soviet  Union, the First Republic was targeted as evil, became an object of  ridicule and contempt. The Empire thereby pursued the goal of  destroying those sprouts of an independent state that the First  Republic could have re-sprouted in our consciousness.

In 1991, when Armenia regained independence, it seemed that the  70-year-old propaganda had not left a deep mark on us, our fears of  being independent had been overcome.

But now, a retrospective analysis of the history of the Third  Republic makes it obvious that the disdain for statehood, our fears  of sovereignty and independence have not been fully overcome, we  often continue to perceive history and the world with the formulas  that the imperial propaganda of the USSR consistently instilled in  us. This is why I am convinced that in order to ensure the  sustainability of our state and our identity, we must first overcome  this, as a result of which we will be able to record and digest  several key realities.

Reality No. 1 - Our identity is our state, our state is our identity,  because all the characteristics that determine our identity have been  acquired, formed and established thanks to statehood, that is, under  the conditions of the existence of statehood, by state decisions and  or with state support.

Reality number 2 - The Republic of Armenia, with an internationally  recognized territory of 29,743 square kilometers, is an expression of  our people's achievements, not their losses. Our people no longer  need to search for a homeland, there is no need to dream about a  homeland, because our dreams have been fulfilled, our homeland has  been found in the person of the Republic of Armenia, in the person of  the state. Since 2020, having gone through severe trials, at the cost  of the lives of our martyrs, we have received a historic opportunity  to develop our sovereignty, realize statehood and make it permanent.  Today we are more of a state than ever, we are more sovereign than  ever, we are more independent than ever.

Reality number 3 - Our history of the last 4.5 centuries, Historical  Armenia, has sent us one main message each: "Do not repeat that  history", "Do not follow my path", "Do not repeat me". This is a  quote from the message of our history and Historical Armenia of the  last 450 years. These are the messages that history and Historical  Armenia send us. And the Government of the Republic of Armenia,  formed by the people's choice, has realized and is implementing this  historic message.

Reality No. 4 - Security guaranteed by external forces is deceptive.  We ourselves are the guarantors of our security, and the effective  means of guaranteeing this security are, first of all, political and  diplomatic tools, the normalization of relations with immediate  neighbors, the establishment of peace with neighbors and not with  distant ones, and on this basis, conducting a balanced and balancing  foreign policy and using the opportunities it creates.

Reality No. 5 - The state is a responsibility, freedom is a  responsibility. The long-term freedom and well- being of society and  each individual are directly proportional to the public and  individual awareness of this reality, and the code of conduct arising  from that awareness. Evading responsibility for freedom and the state  is the path to the loss of both freedom and statehood. The quality of  the fulfillment of this responsibility and the affinity for this  responsibility are the guarantee of the freedom and well-being of  each citizen.

It is these realities that are recorded in the ideology of the Real  Armenia, emphasizing: "The homeland is the state; if you love your  homeland, strengthen your state", "Get rich and make others rich  through individual effort," "Here is the homeland, here is bread,  here is the state, stay here," "Armenia is my home, the people are my  family."

Honorable President of the Republic of Armenia, Honorable President  of the National Assembly, Honorable President of the Constitutional  Court, Honorable representatives of the legislative, executive, and  judicial authorities, Gentlemen, generals and officers, Honorable  guests,

Our path towards the perpetuation of the Republic of Armenia, state  independence, sovereignty, prosperity, and freedom is entering a  historically decisive stage. In the preceding period, we have had  undeniable successes. The draft agreement "On the Establishment of  Peace and Interstate Relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan" has  been agreed upon and negotiations on the draft agreement have been  completed. We are currently holding bilateral consultations with  Azerbaijan to reach agreements on the terms and circumstances of  signing the Agreement, an active dialogue has been established  between Armenia and Turkey, relations between Armenia and the Islamic  Republic of Iran are at an unprecedentedly high level, and a  strategic partnership has been established between Armenia and  Georgia.

Armenia's international reputation is visibly growing, and the fact  that in 2026 our country will host two prestigious and large-scale  events at the European and world levels - the 8th Summit of the  European Political Community and the COP-17 Conference of the Parties  to the Convention on Biological Diversity - is visible proof of this.

One of the most important realities of 2025 is that border control at  all border points of the Republic of Armenia will be carried out  exclusively by our country's border guards, something that is  unprecedented.  We continue to develop close relations with the  Russian Federation and China, we have established a strategic  partnership with the United States, our partnership with India is  deepening, our relations with France and the European Union are at an  unprecedented high level.

The republic and democracy are a reality, the balanced and balancing  foreign policy is a reality, sovereignty and independence are a  reality, the state is a reality, and we must appreciate and cherish  these achievements.

We have overcome the period of the history of losses and have entered  a promising era of the history of achievements. Pessimism and despair  are no longer the companions of the Republic of Armenia.

The companions of the Republic of Armenia are state-centered  self-awareness, knowledge-based view of the world, development and  democracy. Peace and security will become long-term companions of the  Republic of Armenia. There will be no war, there will be peace.  I  congratulate everyone on the occasion of Republic Day.

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

Next, the national anthem of the Republic of Armenia was performed  and a festive march took place.  Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan laid  a wreath at the memorial complex perpetuating the memory of the  heroes of the Battle of Sardarapat and paid tribute to their memory.