I present the government's action plan for 2021-26 in extraordinary conditions. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said this Tuesday while presenting—in the National Assembly—the program of the new government of the Republic of Armenia (RA).

"The grave consequences of the 44-day [Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh)] war in 2020, the 3,773 casualties we had during the war, the whereabouts of 243 soldiers, the fact of being unknown, the fact that some of our captured soldiers have not been returned yet [by Azerbaijan], the thousands displaced, the unusual and complex socioeconomic situation in Artsakh and Armenia, the growing challenges around Armenia and Artsakh, the current crisis situation in the Sotk-Khoznavar area as a result of the illegal incursion of the Azerbaijani armed forces into the RA sovereign territory, the regular violations of the tripartite declaration on cessation of hostilities after November 9, and as a result, the existence of new casualties, the tense international situation, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic make the environment in which we shall discuss the government program strange

This discussion, however, shall not be only about the recording of the problems and challenges, but also about their causes and origins, and most importantly, it shall outline solutions in terms of short-term, medium-term, as well as in terms of strategic perspective because it is obvious that the RA is at a crucial and turning point destination; at a point from where the continuation will be decisive for our state and statehood," Pashinyan said.

He expressed hope that the style, content, depth, and atmosphere of today's discussion will correspond to the agenda that Armenia is facing today.

Pashinyan said that there has been an important achievement in recent months in terms of the institutional establishment of the Armenian state and democracy. "Many years of unresolved agendas have finally been irreversibly resolved through the 2021 snap parliamentary elections. The institution of elections was manifested in a new way in the RA in 2021. The average statistical standard in the history of the Third Republic [of Armenia] was as follows: the publication of the official election results was followed by convincing facts attesting to the authorities’ rigging of the elections, all this was accompanied by public political unrest, the internal political crisis was emerging or further deepening," the PM said.

According to Pashinyan, the internal political crisis has been overcome in Armenia as a result of the 2021 snap parliamentary elections. "This is probably the most unexpected result of the elections because after the catastrophic 44-day war until the end of the [election] campaign, the internal political discourse was being built on the logic of betrayal, handing over, sale of land, accusation of capitulation, punishment, taking revenge upon, even public shooting of the representatives of the current authorities, in particular of the [incumbent] Prime Minister, the family members of his and of the [other] representatives of the authorities,” Nikol Pashinyan said.