NEW AUTHORITIES TO WORK UNDER DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES – PRESIDENT

Interfax News Agency
April 7 2008
Russia

President Robert Kocharian chaired the last meeting of the Armenian
government in that capacity on Friday.I am grateful for being
responsible for Armenia for the past decade, he told the government
members. He thanked them for the joint work and said that Armenia
had conducted a number of reforms, which substantially improved the
living standards.

At the same time, the newly elected president and the new government
have no less difficult missions, the president said, referring to
further reforms.

He also said that the new authorities would work under difficult
circumstances of the world economic recession.

The question of security remains topical for Armenia, Kocharian said.

The world has not become safer. Our region is full of confrontations,
and we should do more for the provision national security and higher
combat ability of the army. Such steps should be accompanied with
flexible and appropriate diplomatic efforts, he said.

He called for strengthening the Armenian statehood, as there are
certain forces inside and outside the country that do not want Armenia
to be stable and prosperous.

Armenian President Elect Serzh Sargsyan will be inaugurated on April 9.