Wife of the Prime Minister of Armenia, chairperson of the boards of trustees of the My Step and City of Smile charitable foundations Anna Hakobyan today had a meeting with women who are actively engaged in the public, political and cultural sectors in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) along with the First Lady of the President of Artsakh Kristine Haroutyunyan in Stepanakert.

During the meeting, Hakobyan presented the developments and upcoming programs of the Women for Peace campaign.

In her speech, Hakobyan stated that the goal of the Women for Peace campaign is to unite all women so that they demand that policymakers, who are mainly men, settle conflicts between different countries through peace.

“We, as wives, mothers and sisters, have all the rights to demand that our husbands save the lives of our sons, brothers and husbands. Anything is possible, and all we need is the political will to reject wars and settle all conflicts through negotiations. Each side can achieve victory during negotiations,” Hakobyan said, stating that many people are trying to interpret this campaign as a manifestation of weakness and that this is a wrong view.

“I’m certain that not only the Armenian army, but also all Armenians will stand to defend Artsakh in case of any military assault. I and, I’m certain that many other women, are ready to take weapons to defend their homeland and children, and not to wage a war, but to prove that there is no alternative to peace. In this context, I believe we will spend a major part of our time on the Women for Peace campaign. As wives and mothers, we must not spare efforts to achieve longstanding peace for our countries and the region,” Hakobyan said.

During the meeting, the actively engaged women of Artsakh stressed that they welcome the campaign and are ready to provide their support. Representative of the Armenian Relief Society Armine Harutyunyan highly appreciated the campaign and stressed that the women living in Artsakh know the price for peace very well.

The website of the Women for Peace campaign, which features information about the goals, values and activities of the campaign, was presented during the meeting.