In my speech addressed to you today, I would have really liked to say that peace and stability have been restored in our homeland and that the homeland no longer needs your military service, but this wouldn’t be true since the homeland needs your and all Armenians’ service. This is what Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said in his speech addressed to the battalion of men enlisted to defend the homeland.

“Today we Armenians are in a situation where each of us must be enlisted to defend the homeland, but I want you to know what you are going to be doing being hundreds of kilometers away from your homes, children and relatives. You will be defending your children, relatives, wives, parents and homes. In the spring of 2016, I was standing where you are standing. In 2016, I decided to volunteer and leave to defend the homeland when I looked at my almost one-year-old daughter and said to myself that I have to go and make sure she sleeps in peace and must die for the homeland, if necessary.

I would like for us to talk about the current situation in the world. Many people ask if Armenia has friends in the world. Yes, Armenia has friends, but they aren’t going to decide for us. However, they will support our choice, whether we choose to win or be defeated. I know that we Armenians, as a centuries-old nation, have the will to make the difficult decision, and the decision is to win. I ask you and demand that you leave here to win, and we will win. The Armenian people must exist on Planet Earth forever,” Pashinyan said.