RA Prime Minister presented key areas of new National Security  Strategy

ArmInfo.  The Security Council  of the Republic of Armenia is holding a regular meeting in Yerevan,  chaired by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the press service of RA PM  reports.

The meeting shall approve Armenia's National Security Strategy, in  addition to discussing other security-related issues. In that  context, Prime Minister Pashinyan delivered a message, in which he  stated:  "Extremely important issues are on the agenda of today's  Security Council meeting, but I would like to single out the National  Security Strategy of the Republic of Armenia. I think we have got a  pretty good draft strategy in terms of both the original text and the   general context.  I think we first of all need to look at our  national identity while discussing the national security strategy  just because national security is supposed to safeguard our ethnic  identity by protecting it from physical and substantive threats. On  the other hand, we should admit that national identity may change  over time.

Our nation has existed for several millennia, though being Armenian  did not mean the same thing during this time. The meaning of the term  has changed over time due to various circumstances, events, and  factors.

We do not know what our compatriots meant by saying Armenian in the  time of King Artashes, but we know for sure that they did not mean  what we mean nowadays. At least he had no idea of our existence,  while we know for sure that they existed. This alone is a major  factor in the development of our national identity.

We do not now know whether the Armenians who lived 2000 years ago  viewed their actions from the perspective of our present interests,  we do not know at all whether there was such a process of thought or  not. But now we can do that, knowing the past, thinking not only  about the present and the future, but also about the millennial  horizon.

Perhaps this is the turning point where the national ideology becomes  a vital necessity, an institution of practical significance, when  based on our past and present experience, we are facing the task of  not only formulating what needs to be done today, but also sending  such a fundamental message that would liaise between the future  generations of Armenians and the Armenian who lived a thousand years  ago. This is our vision of developing national identity and  consciousness. National identity develops on the basis of our  history, those positive and negative impressions we draw from past  experiences, as well as on our vision of the future, which is  organically connected with the past and the present.

Our national identity has evolved over the years so that today we can  formulate our goal, which is to ensure the future generations'  survival and normal development on the planet Earth for several  millennia ahead in the territory of the state of Armenia and think of  what we should do today.  An Armenian that will live in 2000 years  will not look the way we do today just as we are not acting the way  our ancestors did 2000 years ago. But unlike those who lived 2,000  years ago, we can send a message to the future generations of  Armenians that should bridge them with the past, and the main point  of that message is what needs to be done in order to strengthen and  make that connection viable.

On the other hand, that interconnectivity should not be deemed as a  bond. It should not pull us back, but push forward, stimulate and  inspire for ever new achievements, it should not become an  overwhelming presence, but it should encourage every Armenian to feel  part of our millennial mission, become part of that mission, expand  the scope and enrich the content of that mission through deeper  knowledge of our identity.  National identity has a core component,  which implies connectivity with the roots and a sense of ownership of  the heritage and values formed throughout history. This in turn  should develop individual faith and trust in one's own strength, as  well as people's collective faith and trust in their own strength.

This is why I consider it important to draw such a line in the  foreword to the National Security Strategy, which is formulated  below. In this context, I would like to quote Vahan Teryan's famous  lines:  Babylon used to be our enemy, but see It disappeared, passed  away like an evil fog.

So, we come from the Armenian highlands, from Hayk Nahapet, and our  name is Armenian. We are the descendants of the Kingdom of Van,  Yervanduni dynasty, Artashesian dynasty, Arshakuni dynasty, Bagratuni  dynasty, the Kingdom of Cilicia, and the First Republic of Armenia.   We acknowledge the unique role played by the Armenian Soviet  Socialist Republic in the development of education, science, culture  and industry in our country. We are the proud citizens of the Third  Republic of Armenia, the children of the Armenian people who founded  the Third Republic of Armenia and liberated Artsakh.

The Republic of Armenia is the guarantor of the security and freedom  of the Armenians of Artsakh. The Republic of Armenia is a  pan-Armenian state and represents all Armenians from across the  globe.  The Armenian people boast the ability of defying historical  disasters; we have reached the 21st century thanks to the skills and  qualities we have developed on the way to building our own statehood.   The awareness of these historical facts helped us reinstate our  sovereignty immediately after the Medz Yeghern.

The Armenian state is the sole guarantor of our nation's survival and  development. Therefore, our statehood must exist forever since the  Armenian people must exist forever.

National values The national values of the Armenian people are as  follows:  - Armenian statehood, citizenship of the Republic of  Armenia; 

- The history and folklore of the Armenian people: our epic, beliefs,  legends, and myths;

- The Armenian language and alphabet, Armenian literature, including  translated literature, knowledge, science; 

- The pan-Armenian potential, the Armenian Diaspora; - Homeland,  family, individual; - The Armenian Apostolic Church, the Armenian  Catholic Church, the Armenian Evangelical Church.  Christianity; 

- The art of Armenian bards and troubadours, our folklore, classical  and pop music, Armenian dance art, Armenian fine arts, Armenian stage  art, Armenian architecture;

- Armenia's nature and wildlife with its biodiversity; - Progress,  freedom, dignity, hospitality, education, diligence, law-abidingness,  respect and tolerance for other peoples, ethnic groups and religions; 

- Fraternal feelings and relations with the ethnic minorities living  in Armenia and Artsakh, developing an organic union with them based  on the citizenship of the Republic of Armenia and Artsakh; 

- Armenian cuisine, all the samples of material and intangible  heritage that express, depict, describe or symbolize the  aforementioned national values; National Goals The national goals of  the Armenian people are as follows:  - Providing the prerequisites  necessary for the eternity of the Armenian statehood: ideological,  security-related, public, political, legal, economic, demographic,  international, educational, intellectual, cultural and institutional;

- International recognition of Artsakh's right to self-determination  without any restrictions; - International recognition of the Armenian  Genocide, overcoming and eliminating its consequences; 

- Ensuring security, freedom and well-being for the citizens of the  Republic of Armenia, as well as protecting and promoting other  fundamental rights;

 - Equality before the law, equality of men and women, equal access  for men and women to opportunities available in public, state and  economic life, as well as achieving national unity and cohesion  through strict enforcement of civic rights and duties;

- Preservation and development of our national and sovereign  identity by safeguarding the independence and sovereignty of the  Armenian people, including the restoration and development of  national identity among those Armenians who have lost, or who seem to  be on the verge of giving up their ethnic self-consciousness,  including the knowledge of language;

- Mobilization of the pan-Armenian potential in a bid to preserve and  develop our national values and achieve our national goals; 

Pan-Armenian Rules of Coexistence 1. Violence must be ruled out in  dealing with domestic issues. Any such social group or individuals  that view violence as a medium for addressing internal problems must  be rejected. The vision of a non-violent society free of violence  must become the cornerstone of our national unity. Indeed, this does  not apply to the use of legitimate force with a view to preventing  and exposing crimes, ensuring the normal life of society, as well as  protecting the homeland from external aggression.  

2. The expression of people's free will is the only source to form a  government in the Republic of Armenia. Any distortion of people's  free will should be considered as an anti-state and anti-national  activity. 

3. The sovereignty of Armenia, Artsakh and the Armenian people is the  highest value. Such forces as may be willing or trying to involve  foreign powers in the settlement of internal issues, acting as  representatives of foreign interests in our country must be strongly  opposed by the Armenian people and its legitimate representative -  the Government of Armenia.  

4. Armenia and Artsakh should be free from all forms of corruption,  including sponsorship and artificial monopolies, no man-made barriers  to free competition should be created and the material damage  inflicted on the state and the people through corruption must be  repaired. 

5. The rule of law, equality before the law through the exercise of  civic rights and duties must become the core of intra-national  relations.  A judicial system exposed to external or internal  influences is a threat to national security. The law-courts must be  independent.  The existence of a privileged class, circle, and  individual in the sphere of economy, politics and public life must be  ruled out. 

6. The negotiations on the settlement of the Artsakh issue should  seek to safeguard the results of the liberation war waged to ensure  the self- determination and security of the people of Artsakh. Any  solution agreed upon by the governments of Armenia and Artsakh cannot  be considered acceptable unless it gets popular support and approval  in Armenia and Artsakh.

We and the World Throughout its history, Armenia has been looked upon  as the "west of the east" and the "east of the west," often becoming  a scene of a clash of civilizations. We reject the presumption of a  clash of civilizations, and in international relations we position  ourselves as supporters of the dialogue of civilizations. Our vision  of international relations implies international and interethnic  dialogue based on mutual respect, and a mutual desire to understand  and be understood.

Promoting dialogue among civilizations, peoples, States and  multilateral relations should be the reflection of our commitment to  promoting international peace and stability. Armenia stands ready to  become a platform for such dialogue. That is so much as a message.   Coming to the text of the National Security Strategy that will be  adopted later today, I wish to highlight another important nuance  consisting in the fact that the will of the Armenian people is  indicated as a source and a guarantee for Armenia's statehood, that  is, the existence of the Republic of Armenia should be determined by  the will of the Armenian people.

To objectively formulate what I mean by saying the will of the  Armenian people and how it should be expressed in daily life, my  understanding is that the popular will is formed at the crossroads of  civic rights and duties, when the citizens of the Republic of Armenia  and the Armenian people, as a whole, have the opportunity to  simultaneously exercise their rights and duties. The Armenian state  is to be underpinned by the synergy of these two concepts. I think it  is a key feature, and I do believe that it should be enshrined in the  text and concept of the National Security Strategy because, as we  have mentioned on many occasions before, the existence of the  Armenian statehood, as well as, unfortunately, its absence was often  due to favorable or unfavorable geopolitical circumstances.

Our primary task is to get the Armenian nation out of that vicious  cycle where geopolitical factors can predetermine the fate of our  statehood. Our statehood should be dependant on the collective will  of the Armenian people.  And, in fact, with this National Security  Strategy, we are setting a new bar for ourselves. But I want to say  that this is not so much a bar, but it would be more correct to call  it a bar, because it imposes a proportionate responsibility on each  of us, starting with senior officials and ending with ordinary  citizens. The survival of the Armenian statehood depends on our will  to bear that responsibility and exercise our rights, and I am  convinced that as a nation, we are actually prepared to take on this  responsibility today.

I am glad that as a government, as a security council, we have the  required mandate to formulate such willingness and make a daily work  of it. Thank you.  This was my foreword."