The Armenian people are a great people, and every great people has great virtues and great vices, Artsakh’s Foreign Minister David Babayan says.

“There is a well-known _expression_ in foreign policy, "there are no permanent friends and permanent enemies, there are permanent interests." Nevertheless, there are permanent enemies. These are such concepts as the degradation of values, selfishness, greed, lack of patriotism and contempt for it as well as for national values, etc.,” he wrote on Facebook on Wednesday.

“All the great representatives of the Armenian people have been thinking about getting rid of these vices throughout our history. First of all, you need to analyze their thoughts. Faith, patriotism and professionalism are among the effective mechanisms for fighting these eternal enemies. These values must be inculcated from birth, maintained at the highest state level.

“This is both easy and difficult, but a society where patriotism and professionalism are not fundamental value components is doomed. Naturally, it is necessary to always feel the fine line and avoid obscurantism in every possible way, and this requires a harmonious synthesis of healthy traditionalism and healthy progressivism,” the minister said.