ARMENIAN PRESIDENT SPEAKS ON DOMESTIC, FOREIGN POLICY IN STATE-OF-NATION ADDRESS

Public Television of Armenia
Oct 2 2008

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has called the country to develop
such culture in which corruption will not be acceptable. His first
ever state-of-the-nation address delivered at a special session of
parliament on 2 October was broadcast pre-recorded by the Armenian
Public TV later the same day.

He said it is critical to fight corruption in the country and called
upon Armenians to adhere to the letter of law. "Property rights as
well as legal relations should be observed sacredly, and independent
courts of independent Armenia should be on guard [of this principle],"
he maintained.

Calling for observance of national interests by bureaucrats, he
said no-one should feel untouchable and abuse their offices. "I am
stating this clearly, there is no explanation for this to me. No-one in
Armenia should feel immune and assume functions of the state," he said,
adding, however, that officials, opposition, journalists and public
figures should stop the practice of publicly offending each other.

Sargsyan urged parliament to not only pass laws but also be
an institute of political dialogue. To ensure better cooperation
between parliament and other branches of government, he is going to
appoint a special representative to parliament. "I do not understand
when lawmakers complain about laws being inactive. It is as if an
architect complained about the unreliability of a building he has
built," he said.

Touching upon the South Ossetian conflict, Sargsyan said it "sobered"
many. "Ask any resident of Armenian villages and towns ‘When did
the Karabakh war end?’ and the answer will be ‘It is not over yet’",
Sargsyan said, adding: "Yes, the war is not over yet. It will not be
over until there is an arms race, until we congratulate the presidents
of Azerbaijan and Nagornyy Karabakh on making a voluntary decision
on peaceful settlement of the conflict."

Moving on from politics to economy, Sargsyan shared plans to initiate
several projects, which he described as "ambitious", including the
construction of a new nuclear power plant, a railway line between
Iran and Armenia, as well as the opening of a pan-Armenian bank and
an investment fund. "Those three initiatives, three projects will
be under our attention. I would like foreign and local businessmen,
who are mulling future programmes, our citizens and diaspora to be
know about these projects," Sargsyan said.