I am not a conventional politician, and on this sacred day, I will not use artificial or pompous words. For me, today is, first and foremost, a day to bow in memory of all our heroes. To reaffirm that we are indebted to our boys who took part in the defense of the homeland, to the wounded, and to their families.

There was a time when May was a month of our victories and our pride. That was taken from us. We were left with defeat and helplessness. But there is one day in May that is a day of our hope and light, a day for our new generation, a day for our country’s future. That is the day of the last school bell. We must ensure that this year’s last bell becomes the first bell of our national rebirth.

Some of this year’s graduates will likely take part in the first elections of their lives. The rest are not yet eligible to vote, but all of them together are entering adult life, and we are handing over today’s Armenia to them.

We must do everything so that after June 7, a truly new, brighter life with greater opportunities opens up for them. So that we hand over to them an Armenia that has overcome helplessness and overcome internal enmity — a just and secure Armenia. This is our greatest goal. That is the most important meaning of the June 7 elections.

We will stand tall so that we can look our children in the eye. We will have Guaranteed Peace and a Prosperous Armenia. We will defeat helplessness.

Victories must never be forgotten. Anyone can lose a war, but to renounce one’s own victory and one’s own history is unforgivable. We will have new victories in every field.

Today, we bow before all those who fell in the heroic battles for Artsakh, as well as before the memory of our grandfathers and fathers who took part in the Great Patriotic War. All those devoted individuals are the builders of our great, unified history. A country is defined by its memory.