Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attended the event organized on the occasion of the formation day of the border guards of the National Security Service.

The Prime Minister made a speech, congratulated everyone on the occasion of the Border Guard Day, and thanked all the border guards for their service. “Today, your service in the Republic of Armenia is carried out in an exceptional historical situation, when for the first time since the independence of the Republic of Armenia, all border crossing points of the Republic of Armenia are controlled and service is carried out there by the border guards of the Republic of Armenia. The next important news that we have had for two years regarding the borders of the Republic of Armenia is that we have a demarcated and delimited 12-kilometer border section with Azerbaijan, where the border guards of the Republic of Armenia carry out service. This is also a very important and exceptional situation," the Prime Minister said, noting that this 12-kilometer section of the border between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan is the only section where representatives of the armed forces of Armenia and Azerbaijan carry out service without helmets, without body armor.

According to the Prime Minister, this happened by agreement reached between the governments, border guards of Armenia and Azerbaijan. "And this makes us notice the obvious fact that border guards are usually a symbol of peace, because where border guards are standing on the border, peace reigns on that border with a high probability or in most cases.

Our desire and goal is that all borders of the Republic of Armenia, all sections of the border be under the responsibility of border guards. We are going that way. In the near future, of course, we will continue and within a logical time frame will complete the demarcation of the border between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan. Of course, summing up the demarcation of our border with Georgia with our Georgian partners is also on our agenda. We have already reached agreements on this and with this, in essence, the demarcation and delimitation of the borders of the Republic of Armenia will be summed up, and our state will have the opportunity to more confidently focus on the development agenda in its internationally recognized territory," said Nikol Pashinyan.

The Prime Minister once again emphasized that, along with peace, the border guard is one of the most important symbols of the sovereignty and independence of any state, including the Republic of Armenia, and the Government's desire is for army personnel to have the opportunity to carry out their service in permanent deployment areas. "We do not notice this nuance either, but for decades our army has been spending most of its service in trenches, in military posts, the conditions of which, due to circumstances known to us, are not the best. Of course, now large-scale fortification and engineering works are also being carried out on the borders, but our goal is that at some moment we will also hand over those fortified areas to the border guards so that the border guards can also carry out service in those places," the Prime Minister said, adding that this will happen in conditions of complete peace, "to which, of course, we are moving more and more confidently with every month, every week, every day."

The Prime Minister noted that our region is experiencing historical changes, and these changes are definitely positive. “Our task is to gradually expand the functional significance of the border troops in the Republic of Armenia and the scope of the border troops’ service, because the service of the border guard is an important symbol of peace, and at the same time, of sovereignty, independence, and security. Where the border guard stands, there is a greater level of confidence in security. It is due to this confidence that the state, the Government, makes a decision to hand over this or that section of the border to the service of the border troops,” Nikol Pashinyan emphasized.

The Prime Minister also added that the Government should ensure a higher level of attractiveness for the border troops in the near future. On the other hand, according to the Prime Minister, this means that the Government should expect an increasingly higher level of professionalism from the border troops, because peace is also a responsibility. “Let us not forget that the border troops, border guards are the people who are the first to welcome foreigners who come to Armenia and, no less importantly, they also welcome citizens returning to the Republic of Armenia from foreign trips. We must analyze and evaluate the moment of this meeting very seriously, because this contact is a very important contact, the impressions of which can change a lot in the perceptions of both foreigners and citizens of the Republic of Armenia about their own state, their own independence, sovereignty and protection. Now, of course, we have set this task and are successfully implementing it,” the Prime Minister said, adding that ongoing programs for training and raising the professional level are being widely implemented in the border troops. There is a voluntary certification system in place, which also helps to benefit from a higher level of social security.

Nikol Pashinyan also noted with joy that more and more conscripts are being enrolled into the border troops. “Dear border troops, I congratulate all of us again on the occasion of Border Guard Day. I thank you all again for your service in the interests of the Republic of Armenia, its independence, sovereignty, statehood, security, and in the interests of the citizens of the Republic of Armenia, who should be proud of their state, who should love their state. But it is very important that the state loves the citizen as much as the citizen loves the state, including through the service in the border troops, the citizens of the Republic of Armenia should feel the care and love of the state towards them. Of course, including the border troops should feel the care and love of their state towards them.

So, long live the border troops of the Republic of Armenia.
Glory to the martyrs and long live the Republic of Armenia,” Prime Minister Pashinyan summed up his speech.

Then, the servicemen of the NSS border troops performed a festive parade and performed exercises. Prime Minister Pashinyan, accompanied by NSS Director Andranik Simonyan, got acquainted with the technical means of the Border Troops and their capabilities.

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia and the NSS Director paid tribute to the memory of the fallen servicemen who sacrificed their lives for the sake of the homeland.