Address by Armen Papikyan, Ambassador of Armenia to Austria and Slovakia, on the occasion of the Independence Day of Armenia

21 September, 2022

Dear compatriots,

Today is Armenia’s Independence Day.

31 years ago, the Armenian people reaffirmed their right to live freely and sovereignly, fulfilling our long-standing dream of restoring independent Armenian statehood.

On this cherished day, we first of all bow to the memory of all our heroes who did not spare their lives to give us freedom and dignity.

Today, when the whole world is stormed by numerous and serious challenges, catastrophic and major conflicts, our right to live freely needs protection again.

Our desire to live as a sovereign state is respected by all, except our neighboring dictatorship, which occupies a leading position in the world in the violation of the rights of its own citizens, in the bloody repression. The large-scale aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Armenia on September 13 is another page of the decades-long politics of anti-Armenian hatred.

I am confident that the Armenian people, who have gone through centuries of disasters and troubles, will also overcome today's challenges that again threaten our statehood, national identity and future.

My fellow compatriots,

It is the duty of all of us to do the possible and the impossible in order to neutralize the existential dangers we face, to stand up for our declared values and goals.

In that endeavor, our only hope, our strong pillar of being, should be the national unity and the collective will.

I congratulate all of us on the occasion of the 31st anniversary of the Republic of Armenia!

Long live the Republic of Armenia!

MFA RA
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