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Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday held a consultation with governors, his office reported.

The premier thanked them for valuable work carried out during the war and in the post-war days. “The governors all worked hard during this period, especially in the areas in close vicinity of battlefields. In particular, the governors of Gegharkunik, Syunik Provinces and other governors as well carried out the mission of supporting our Armed Forces during the war. Many, if not all, governors have spent quite some time on the frontlines, some of them in some of the worst fighting areas. I appreciate your contribution. I am convinced that the residents of border regions noticed and appreciated it. Our Armed Forces and the Army noticed and appreciated this, too,” the prime minister said. Nikol Pashinyan stressed that the time has come to start talking about the future, about “how we are going to live further; what targets and future plans to draw in order to set up a benchmark for all of us.”

“This is the most important topic today. Because, as I said at today’s government meeting, we are facing difficult times, and rather complicated processes await us in the near future. Today we have to address tasks related to the search for missing persons, the exchange of dead bodies, the return of our captive compatriots, the satisfaction of the needs of those who have lost their homes. The implementation of the agreements reached under the November 9 statement is painful, but I would like to state once again that the decision was taken in a situation where the alternative could be more difficult, no matter how problematic the situation is for all of us,” the Premier said, noting that as a society, as a state, we need to decide whether we are prepared to defy these difficult times or not.

“I think that the answer to this question is unambiguous: we must live, go through these difficult times, create new opportunities for developing our people’ creative potential, so that they could work, develop, generate added value and put it at the service of our state and people. The biggest problem we are facing today is as follows: we must be able to ensure external and internal security and stability, because today it is indeed a vital need for our country, our state and our people. In this context, we must be stronger, we must have the determination to take on and bear this responsibility. At the same time, I say that I personally consider myself responsible for the current situation. I am not going to shift this responsibility onto others' shoulders. On the other hand, ensuring the full functioning, the manageability and stability of the system of public administration is of strategic importance in this situation. I wish to thank our governors for shouldering this difficult function during all this time; they are exercising and will continue to exercise in the future, have an additional negative effect,” the Prime Minister said, noting that bad news can sometimes turn into optimism, if defied.

“And we should be able to carry this burden on our shoulders not because we like it, but because the alternative can be destructive, the alternative can be much heavier, much more complicated and much more painful. We cannot let that happen. So, I hope everyone will act according to this logic; otherwise it would mean an escape from reality. We are not going to run away. And we are going to bear this burden in full, but also hoping that we will come out from this situation with a share of optimism for the future, with a sound vision and new ideas about the future,” Nikol Pashinyan emphasized.

The meeting reviewed the post-war situation in the regions, the emerging socio-economic problems, progress in the implementation of capital programs and further action.