The President of the Republic of Armenia, Vahagn Khachaturyan, hosted Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the Presidential Palace. Within the framework of the solemn ceremony, President Khachaturyan signed the decree appointing Nikol Pashinyan as Prime Minister of the Republic, at the proposal of the “Civil Contract” faction of the National Assembly.

President Vahagn Khachaturyan- I am greatly honored for this opportunity of Article 149 of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, to sign the decree appointing you as Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, the proposal of which I received from the political majority in the National Assembly. I sincerely congratulate you, I wish you great patience, endurance, and determination to lead us in these difficult times, to lead the country to a future, a prosperous future.

I am also confident that your principledness will contribute, of course, to the strengthening of the statehood of the Republic of Armenia, proceeding from the principles of constitutionalism, for the benefit of the peaceful and dignified future of the people of the Republic of Armenia.

Congratulations, Mr. Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan - Thank you, Mr. President, for the invitation and solemn signing of the decree, as well as for your words, trust and support. I must say honestly that in 2018, when I assumed the post of Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia as a result of the People's, non-violent, velvet revolution, it would have been difficult to predict that we would go down such a path and I think it would have been difficult to predict that we would be able to overcome this path. But we are where we are, and I think that the key role and significance in all this belongs unequivocally and undoubtedly to the people of the Republic of Armenia, who, after all, demonstrated special expressions of state consciousness and state-centeredness throughout this period. And of course, this is a great obligation and commitment. Of course, the Cabinet will be formed in the near future and all Cabinet members, including me, will already enshrine our obligations to our people with the text of the oath.

I would also like to thank you for your message from the podium of the National Assembly today. You delivered very important messages, which I was following closely. I hope that the 9th convocation National Assembly will eventually become a platform that will be an environment for the clash of political ideas, thoughts, visions, and not individuals. Today, I saw that the candidate for the President of the National Assembly, nominated by the “Civil Contract” party, Mr. Rubinyan, sent the same message, demonstrating the willingness of the “Civil Contract” party faction to work in the parliament without personal and personalized targeting, beyond the logic of slander and insults. Of course, the debates should and will be sharp, but it is very important what the sharpness is about, the sharpness should be about political, economic, socio-economic content, and not mutual targeting. In any case, we have heard your message and will be guided by that message. I hope we will manage not to deviate from this direction, because this process is not one-sided, and if the opposition also considers this logic acceptable, I think we will have much better quality work.

Mr. President, once again I would like to thank you for the support you have shown throughout this period. Of course, we do not fully cover our meetings and joint work, because at the working level we are in a very close dialogue and discuss many issues, during this period I have always seen and felt your support in official and unofficial contacts, for which I am grateful.

President Vahagn Khachaturyan - Honorable Mr. Prime Minister, very briefly, I would like to thank you again for the trust that exists between the Government, the President's office, and the National Assembly, because I myself am a participant in the most important state decisions, the possibility of which you have given. In fact, in the Constitution these possibilities are very conditional. And it is also that trust that convinces me that in reality the policies that you are pursuing, as the Head of the Government, as the leader of the political majority, will contribute to the strengthening of the Republic of Armenia, will contribute to the strengthening of the sovereignty of Armenia and will definitely contribute to the strong future of Armenia.

I wish you success again, will, endurance, strength, because what many of us, including the citizens of the Republic of Armenia, see from the outside is only the external part. The internal situations that exist, about which many are not informed, require the principledness that you have demonstrated over the years. You rightly noted that in 2018, we could not imagine that such developments would take place not only in our region, but in the world in general. We must be able, as you say, you always emphasize, to make the processes that are taking place manageable.

And a small observation in general regarding the political environment. The fact that the citizens of our Republic of Armenia are given the opportunity to choose government by the Constitution, this has become a reality. This has always been a dream for us. Our people have made their choice for years, but, unfortunately, the power was taken from them. After 2018, our people make their choice and receive that power. And the government, which was elected by that people, has that obligation and must justify that trust that it receives from the people. But there is another important factor. The stability, strengthening, and strength of the state depend not only on the political majority that assumes power, but also on the opposition. The more the society needs a qualified political majority in democratic countries, the more importance the opposition has and the more important its role is. And we must do everything together, including working with the opposition. I have also heard Mr. Rubinyan’s messages. I am sure that you are willing to create that situation, that atmosphere, because in the end, all of us should have one goal: to have a strong, powerful Republic of Armenia.

Thank you.