Serzh Sargsyan:  The latest personnel changes are structural changes  that will help the country attain a new quality 

ArmInfo. "We are celebrating the 25th anniversary of our independence with our heads held high. We have gone down a difficult but decent path," President 

of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan said in his address on  occasion of the 25th Independence Anniversary of the Republic of Armenia on September 

21. 

"What did we have at the beginning of that road? We had a country, 

one third of which was literally leveled to the ground by a 

devastating earthquake. People had no place to live, to say nothing 

of jobs.  In that situation, we received hundreds of thousands of 

refugees from the neighboring country.  Moreover, we were standing at 

the verge of a full-scale war. We started under energy crisis and 

blockade. Probably neither of the former Soviet Republics had such 

unfavorable starting position. But we did not falter in our choice, 

remained true to our resolve to build an independent and democratic 

state," the president said.  

Sargsyan said state is a tool, which is called to serve people and 

not vice versa. The independence generation wants to improve that 

tool. And that generation is on the right path. "We are walking down 

a very complicated but the most promising path of building democratic 

stability. It is indeed very difficult to cover in a couple of 

decades a distance which others covered in hundreds of years. But it 

is possible because the course is charted," he said adding that no 

one will settle our problems instead of us. In his words, Armenia has 

good friends, partners and allies throughout the world.

"We are following the path of honest work, honest earning, and the 

truth telling path. Our society is our wealth. Whatever good there is 

in our country, it's been done by them - the citizens of the Republic 

of Armenia, regardless of who was leading the country.  Today our 

country has entered a new, accelerated phase of reforms. These are 

not just personnel changes as some would like to think. These are 

structural changes which will bring about a qualitatively new state. 

This is not just wishful thinking; this is a succession of the 

preset, defined steps. 

We know where we are going and how to get there. If an entire nation 

wants to renovate its house, it will do it. Nothing will make us 

deviate from that route, while the amended Constitution will become a 

bright beacon illuminating that route.  The Armenia-Artsakh-Spyurk 

trinity is our strength. Whatever we have done in a quarter of a 

century, we have done together. Tomorrow we will do even more. In the 

process we have not only used the existing potential but have also 

accumulated new experiences and new potential. We have formed new 

platforms and tools which open new horizons before us.  

I once again congratulate us all on the occasion of Independence Day. 

The realization of our national aspirations is in our own hands. It 

will take time and work to do. I wish us all peaceful skies and new 

achievements for the glory of our country and our nation.  National 

Hero of the Republic of Armenia Movses Gorgissian used to say, "Long 

live the Armenia which will come tomorrow." He was speaking of an 

independent and free Armenia. Today we are saying, "Long live the 

Armenia which has come", but immediately follow by saying "Long live 

the Armenia which will come tomorrow," and we mean a more prosperous 

and secure Armenia," the president said for conclusion.