YEREVAN. – I will not abandon the political trench; I am not someone who abandons the “trench.” The third president, former ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) chairman Serzh Sargsyan stated this Thursday to his supporters in front of the court where a criminal case involving him and several others is being heard.

"During these three years, we [the RPA] also had party losses, but, also, we got tougher, our [party] ranks crystallized, and we have a professional and competitive team today, too, and we will fight for our national and strong state.

I will not abandon the political trench; I am not someone who abandons the ‘trench’; I have proved [it] in my past years. I can easily give up an office, I can give up an entire power for the sake of the people of Armenia, for the sake of the Armenian people, but I will never abandon the ‘trench’ that protects the Armenian statehood; you can be sure of this," Sargsyan said in particular.