December 18, 2010 - 16:53 AMT
Serzh Sargsyan: bribery and corruption are main impediments to Armenia's progress

Armenian President, Chairman of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) Serzh Sargsyan said that currently bribery and corruption are the main impediments to Armenia's progress.

In some post-Soviet countries the problem has been resolved, Sargsyan said during a solemn sitting of the RPA on the occasion of the party's 20th anniversary.

"Certainly, it has not been solved completely there, but bribery and corruption have been minimized so that people started trusting state officials, policemen and judges. It is not a tale, but a reality. It is our tomorrow's reality," the President said.

Mr. Sargsyan noted that the country's leadership is proud of law-abiding Armenians, who reside outside Armenia.

"I strongly believe that the day is not far off when we will be proud of the fact that Armenian citizens are law-abiding," Sargsyan said, adding that people respect the law when it is efficient for everyone.

According to Mr. Sargsyan, the state structures should ensure equality before the law and inevitability of punishment, concluded Mr. Sargsyan.