The first session of the National Assembly (Parliament) of the 8th convocation started. The oldest Kurdish MP, 76-year-old Knyaz Hasanov, chaired it.
Those present observed a minute of silence in memory of the victims of the 44-day Artsakh war.
Then, His Holiness, Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II said a word of blessing.
“We bring you our patriarchal blessing on the occasion of the first session of the 8th convocation of the Parliament and congratulate the newly elected deputies. Today, our Homeland Armenia and Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) face serious external and domestic challenges, the ongoing aggression and expansionist ambitions by Azerbaijan. In order to overcome the problems in the domestic life, it is imperative to unite state politicians and the whole society,” said the Catholicos.
Armenia’s President Armen Sarkissian made a welcoming speech.
“Dear deputies, today it is a priority to find a way out of the deep, multi-layered crisis. In this context, the primary task is to rule out splitting. We must all have our main goal - to preserve, defend, develop our statehood,” said the President.
Then the deputies of the newly elected Parliament took an oath.
