Today, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited the Investigative Committee of the Republic of Armenia and took part in the solemn sitting dedicated to the 7th anniversary of the establishment of the structure. The event was attended by the leadership of the Investigative Committee, the heads of structural subdivisions.

Prime Minister Pashinyan delivered congratulatory remarks, particularly saying,

"Honorable Chairman of the Investigative Committee,

Dear Colleagues,

Congratulations to all of us on the occasion of the 7th anniversary of the formation of the Investigative Committee. I think, particularly at this stage of the development of our state, when we face many challenges, we must emphasize again and again the need for the accomplishment and development of state institutions. In this regard, I would like to specially emphasize the improvement of the quality of work of law enforcement agencies, which is of key importance in terms of further development of our state and challenge management. In this sense, we take the opportunity of the professional holidays of the investigative bodies to emphasize the need to improve the quality of the preliminary investigation.It should be noted that we have continuous progress in this regard, but we should also note that we should not be satisfied with what has been achieved. In this regard, I would like to emphasize two important components.

It is very important that in the Investigative Committee, in the investigative bodies in general, in the law enforcement bodies, in the public administration system in general, parallel with the raising of the quality standards of work, we will be able to set a more reliable and higher bar of social guarantees. This is also one of the priorities of the Government's policy. But I must say that we cannot develop this direction at our desired speed in all state bodies, if we do not combine it with the process of increasing the efficiency of our state institutions in general.

The Investigative Committee is the largest investigative body in our country, and we highlight and appreciate its work. We want to never lose sight of the issue of increasing its efficiency, because to make the system effective means to enable the Government to be more confident, to increase the effectiveness of social guarantees at a faster pace, such as salaries, and so on. I want us to agree that this issue will be on our general agenda. This is not just about the Investigative Committee. This is about all our state bodies, and we must definitely develop this direction.

The next issue, which I would like to address in the context of what has been said, is that it is very important for our society to receive complete answers on the circumstances and the whole picture of the 44-day war. Of course, I do not think that we should expect those answers only from the Investigative Committee, because the issue has a broader context, and I think the National Assembly Investigative Commssion will refer to that broader context more thoroughly.

But I also attach importance to the effective investigation into the criminal cases related to the circumstances of the war, so that our society, the relatives of our martyrs, get concrete answers to concrete questions. Moreover, assuming any presupposition here would be a fatal mistake. It’s just necessary that the formulated questions receive objective answers, so that the claims about one being guilty or innocent should not be based on individual perceptions and incomplete understanding of the situation.

Our conversation today has a little working nature, and there are some disturbing colors, but I do not want us to make this the only thing to say today. I want to thank all of you for your work during this period. Because we have to also note that our country is going through a very difficult period, and went through that period in a very tense period, full of culminations. And the fact that we were able to put an end to that period with elections, which were internationally assessed as in line with democratic standards, is a very important indicator of the strength of the institutions that ensure our rule of law. I would like to express my appreciation on this occasion, emphasizing that I highly appreciate the role that the Investigative Committee has played during this period.

I want to emphasize what I am talking about. It is clear that the Investigative Committee was not politically active or involved. The point is that in very difficult and turbulent times, the institutions that ensure our rule of law have been in their positions, ensuring the normal functioning of state institutions, state functions, levers. Although it is obvious that the bodies that ensure the rule of law could not avoid being affected by the emotional level, taking into account environmental influences as well, they simply could not be unaffected by it all. This shows that, nevertheless, the state relies on institutions, institutions rely on individuals. This situation shows that there are enough people in our state institutions who can put the state above everything in the most responsible, most difficult moments, the state and the state interest, that is, to put the national interest above everything, the mission, the function, the provision of law and order above all. And I want to thank all of you for this attitude, this position.

But I must say that during all this period, the analysis of what happened with us is very important. Without predetermining anything, one of the most obvious conclusions of this analysis, in my opinion, will be that we still have certain problems in the field of state institution building, and we must solve those problems first, in order for the institutions to be really priority, personal perceptions, approaches and desires have as little impact as possible on the work of those institutions, their content and results.

Congratulations again on the occasion of the Day of the Investigative Committee. I wish success to all for the benefit of the Republic of Armenia, for the sake of law, order, state, statehood, protection and preservation of the sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia, which ultimately leads to the preservation and protection of our people, its rights, its security, will and dreams.

Thank you”.

The Chairman of the Investigative Committee Argishti Kyaramyan also delivered a congratulatory speech. He thanked Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for his words of appreciation and presented the activities of the structure. Referring to the work done since September 2020, Argishti Kyaramyan noted that the investigators of the Investigative Committee worked overload at that time, and it continues today due to the large number of criminal cases and the preliminary investigation process. According to him, the relevant subdivision of the Investigative Committee is currently investigating into the criminal cases of crimes against military service during the war and the Investigative Committee is capable of carrying out a comprehensive and objective examination for fully revealing the circumstances of the 44-day war and present it to the public.

Afterwards, the solemn awarding ceremony took place. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan handed state awards to the employees of the Investigative Committee for their contribution to strengthening the rule of law.

Mkhitar Gosh Medal was awarded to Vigen Mesropyan, Head of the General Department of Supervision of Activity of Territorial Investigative Departments of the Investigative Committee, First Class Justice Advisor, and Rafael Vardanyan, Head of the General Department of Investigation of Particularly Important Cases, First Class Justice Advisor.
Eduard Karapetyan, Head of the Division of Investigation of Traffic Crimes, Second Class Justice Advisor, and Vache Mkhitaryan, investigator at the Department of Investigation of General and Election-Related Crimes, Second Class Justice Advisor were awarded with the Prime Minister's Medal.