YEREVAN. – The new Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, on Friday approached a group of women who have lost their sons in the army—but not in combat—and who were staging a protest outside the government building, and he promised to deal with their problems.

“I will instruct that they deal with your issues,” Pashinyan told them. “Let’s try to resolve your issues as quickly as possible.”

These women noted that this was the first time in the past eleven years that any senior Armenian official had approached them and made them promises.

“We already trusted [Pashinyan]; we have hope that our matters will be resolved,” said one of them. “There is confidence that he will do what he says.”