There must not be any walls between Armenia and the Diaspora, we must all live as one family. President Armen Sarkissian met with the representatives of the Armenian community in Nur-Sultan

President of the Republic of Armenia Armen Sarkissian, who is in the Republic of Kazakhstan on a working visit, met with the representatives of the Armenian community in Nur-Sultan.

"Friends are important to us. Kazakhstan is the political leader in Central Asia, said President Sarkissian, referring to his visit to Kazakhstan. It is a country that is a Collective Security Treaty Organization member and lives in the same Eurasian economic system. It is a country that has good relations with us and Azerbaijan and Turkey.

Kazakhstan is our friend, and we must do our best to make our relations deep, warm and daily. The purpose of my visit is to strengthen our friendly relations. If you do not talk to your friend of your problems, your adversaries will, and say exactly the contrary. I want to assure you that I received the warmest reception. I am going back more confident that our friendship continues.”

President Sarkissian noted that during his meetings in Kazakhstan, his Kazakh counterparts always spoke about the Armenian community, and the high qualities of our compatriots, how respected and successful they are. "Their high expectations, and great respect should be used for the well-being of you, Kazakhstan, and Armenia."

Presenting the situation in Armenia, the President of the Republic emphasized that these are difficult days for our country and the reasons are various. "First, the war. In a sense, it is a ceasefire, but the war is not over. There is no agreement, no peace, said President Sarkissian. It is unknown where we will go in Artsakh's status, when the negotiations will start and what the process will be. How will the future relations form on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border? I am sure you all know what a sensitive issue it is, not only for our citizens living in the border regions, but for all the citizens of Armenia, the whole Armenian people. New questions arise every day, and these questions are sensitive for everyone.

If an Azeri soldier enters the territory of Armenia half a kilometer, not speaking of a few kilometers, it is a great alarm for us. The issue of our soldiers in captivity in Azerbaijan is a great problem. Armenia returned the Azeri captives, but Azerbaijan does not do that, it tries to use them as a playing card. This is absolutely unacceptable.

There are families in Armenia whose sons, husbands, and fathers are missing. This is awful because you do not know whether your son is alive or not. Every day, they are between heaven and hell.”

The President noted that there were also enormous economic difficulties. They had existed before as well, but because of the coronavirus and the war, they got deeper. "We need to think about economic recovery, we need to plan and work daily, said President Sarkissian. – People's health is also a big problem. Coronavirus is an unexpected enemy, which killed about as many people as during the war. It is an unpredictable disease: we have to live with it for a long time yet.

We need discipline to restore our country and state. Without restoring the body of the state, the economy, you cannot even dream that you will again have a
strong army, that you will be able to protect yourself, your family, your
borders, and whatever is yours."

Noting that early parliamentary elections will be held in Armenia as a solution to the situation, President Sarkissian said that we have only one way: we must all work together. "Divided Armenia will not be able to overcome the current situation, he said. Of course, eventually, the truth must be put on the table one day; the people who are responsible for a wrong decision must be held accountable. But before all that, and afterwards, no matter how much we disagree with each other and have different political views, we must think that there is only one way out: we must overcome it together.

I absolutely do not accept that our people, our citizens, are divided into old and new, black and white. We are all Armenians, and being Armenians, every one of us is an individual, and has one’s own opinion."

President Sarkissian also referred to the need for systemic changes, noting that, in his opinion, the current Constitution should be amended, as it does not allow us to create a balanced system of public administration. The lion's share of power belongs to the executive branch, represented by the Prime Minister, while other institutions lack serious restraint mechanisms and lack a system of checks and balances.

The President also noted that the amendments to the Constitution should increase the role of the Diaspora: "I think it is an abnormal phenomenon when people who achieved the highest position and success in various spheres in the Diaspora have no right to return to Armenia to occupy a high post, said the President. One of the representatives of the community noted that the Armenians of the Diaspora always help the Homeland, but they want Armenia to love them as well, not only in the moments when the Diaspora needs help. If Armenia is proud of the Diaspora, the Armenians of the Diaspora also want to be proud of Armenia.

In response, President Sarkissian said that everything should be done to build together the Homeland that every Armenian dreams of. In this context, the President reiterated the need for unity. "Every one of us must make his contribution to restore the national unity. Armenians cannot be enemies to each other, we cannot be divided into left and right, black and white, said the President. - When we talk to our friends, everyone says that you are one of the oldest nations in the world, the oldest means the one with the most experience. It is time to learn from our experience. We have no right to get smaller.

Every Armenian loves Armenia and Artsakh, like his family, his children, and his parents. You said something important that you would very much like Armenia to love you too. This has a profound meaning, that is, we should become one family, we should never be separated, there should never be a wall between us. There should be no walls between Armenia and the Diaspora, we should all live as one family.”