Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has addressed a message on the occasion of Citizen's Day, the PM's Office said.

The message reads as follows:

"Dear people, dear citizens of the Republic of Armenia,

Today, we celebrate Citizen's Day, which appeared on our calendar after the People's Non-Violent Velvet Revolution of 2018, to mark the de facto confirmation of the long-proclaimed formula that power in the Republic of Armenia belongs to the people.

That formula is now an irreversible reality in Armenia, and it is also proven by the events of recent years, when the once elites, who were able to decide in small circles who will be the government and who will be the opposition, are no longer able to do so, because only one entity has the right and opportunity to make such decisions, and that entity is the Citizen of the Republic of Armenia, and the collective of citizens, the People.

It was the anointing of the Citizen as the highest bearer of power that took place in the People's, non-violent, velvet revolution of 2018, and it is the anointed Citizen that enables us to face the most difficult trials that have befallen us in recent years.

The main target of these trials is our independence, sovereignty and statehood, and the anointing of the citizen is not the main reason behind these trials, but being able to overcome them is the real reason.

The anointed Citizen, the ruling People have demonstrated their will to have a sovereign state, and this will must have concrete manifestations.

The most important of them is the territorial integrity, without which the state cannot exist, and one of the key issues of our agenda, which we are solving now, is the territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia, reproducing the internationally recognized borders of our country as the foundation of our independence, sovereignty, statehood, and the Citizen, with his calmness as the guarantor of statehood, ensures that we resolutely follow this path.

The next most important guarantee for the existence of the state is the popular agreement on the balanced relationship of rights and responsibilities, the popular decision enshrined in the legal foundations of the state, and at some point we must also achieve this strategic goal, so that the citizen considers the legal system established in the country, the system of rights and responsibilities his own, something he created himself and not what was imposed on him by some circles. The legal order created by citizens' consciousness and decision is the most important condition of sovereignty and statehood, and thus the pillars of our statehood must be strengthened and reinforced.

Dear people, dear citizens of the Republic of Armenia,

I congratulate you all on Citizen's Day. This is a day created by you, each and every one of you, with the desire to live safely, dignified, prosperous and happy life in your own home. Why, then, do we face such severe trials after the Revolution? Because no one can live safely, dignified, prosperous and happy in his house without tidying the doors, windows, roof and fence of that house. During the Revolution of 2018, we knew that the doors, windows, roof and fence of our house, the Republic of Armenia, needed to be tidied, otherwise there would be no need for a Revolution.

We also knew that some people consider us tenants in our own house, and they provided many conditions to fix that perception. In 2018, we decided to be landlords without thinking about the consequences. It's not that we didn't think about its consequences without understanding, but we didn't think about it having full understanding, because it's pointless to think about the consequences of being yourself. you just have to decide if you want to be you or not.

We decided that we are landlords, and we are on our way to being landlords. And we will pass that way successfully, because the will of the citizens of the Republic of Armenia to have a free, sovereign, safe, happy state is as strong as a rock, and the spirit does not know what surrendering means.

Glory to the martyrs and long live the Republic of Armenia.

Long live the Republic of Armenia!''