Ruben Vardanyan, State Minister of the Republic of Artsakh, today held a working meeting in the administration of the Askeran region, and got acquainted with the current urgent problems. The head of the administration, Hamlet Apresyan, considered the security problem to be a priority, noting that it causes serious damage to agriculture and deprives people of their livelihood, as a significant part of the cultivable lands and pastures is under the enemy's direct fire. The issue of operational communication and effective cooperation between communities-administration-ministries was also raised at the consultation.

Emphasizing the importance of effective organization of work, State Minister Ruben Vardanyan noted that it is possible to face new challenges only with disciplined and organized work. For this reason, a mechanism of daily consultations with the heads of the administration has been introduced, which gives an opportunity to hear from them personally about the situation and urgent problems.

During the visit, Minister of State Ruben Vardanyan also met with heads of communities of the Askeran region, heads of institutions and enterprises of the region, listened to the problems raised by them, which mainly related to security, civil defense, problems of housing, repair of schools, roads, etc.

Referring to the security issue, the state minister noted. "The possibility of establishing peace lies only in our strength and unity. No treaty can solve that issue because we have a neighboring country that doesn't want us to live here. We must become strong, and united so that they cannot solve the issue in a way that is unacceptable to us. We must continue our struggle in all directions: diplomatic, military, political, and informational. We have to be vigilant."

Speaking about the incident of the closure of the Stepanakert-Goris road, Ruben Vardanyan noted that we should be ready for such provocations.

"The situation is like this. We must fight against it by all means. This reality requires completely different approaches from us, both in diagnosing problems, in making decisions, and in general ways of working. We have many serious dangers and challenges, but I am confident that we will overcome them. Our struggle continues for the right to live on our land, for the future of our children. And this is the struggle of all Armenians."