President Serzh Sargsyan attended today the oath taking ceremony of the newly elected Mayor of Yerevan Taron Margarian which took place at the special sitting of the Yerevan City Council.

The President congratulated Taron Margarian, all members of the City Council, and the staff of the City Hall on the successful conclusion of the Council and Mayor elections and assumption of new responsibilities. He expressed confidence that they would conduct their responsible duties with honor.

Underscoring that the Republican Party has entrusted Taron Margarian to lead the Party list on the Yerevan City Council elections, the President expressed gratitude to all Yerevanians for showing the same degree of confidence to Taron Margarian. The Yerevanians have placed their trust in the newly elected Mayor because, according to the President of Armenia, in the previous two years, Taron Margarian has manifested himself as a modest, honest, congenial Mayor who is concerned with the problems of the capital.

“After every election inevitably comes the time of responsibility and hard work, and I am confident that now is the right time for Taron Margarian and his team to double their vigor, efforts to further develop qualities which I have just mentioned,” the President of Armenia said.

Speaking about the problems of the capital, Serzh Sargsyan noted that there do not exist insoluble and soluble issues, rather there are tough problems which are to be solved through hard work. The President expressed confidence that if Taron Margarian, his team, and the members of the Yerevan City Council continue to have the trust of the residents of Yerevan they can achieve a lot: the trust of the Yerevanians will indeed help solve many problems. As an example, the President of Armenia noted that through the hard work of the Mayor and the Council and with the help of the residents of Yerevan, hundreds of backyards of the capital’s multi-apartment buildings have been returned to their lawful owners – the tenants and first of all to children, which in turn allowed to once again regain the trust of the residents. Serzh Sargsyan noted that in the beginning of the 1990s, numerous garages located in these backyards, playgrounds were used as kitchen gardens or something else and the residents of Yerevan were skeptical that it would be possible to regain them for their original purpose. They thought that if they’d removed their garages there would be an official or a money bag who would install his own. Considering the work accomplished in recent years, President Serzh Sargsyan expressed confidence that in the next four years there will be no ugly backyard left because the process is going on: the City Hall is increasing collection of its own resources, funds allocated by the state are also on the rise thus with this regard the problem may be considered almost solved. “I expect that at least in the end of the third year, Taron Margarian will be able to announce that there are no ugly or uncomfortable backyards in Yerevan. Certainly, today I will not speak about all problems existing in Yerevan. I trust that the City Hall with the renewed vigor will be able to make our beloved Yerevan even more comfortable, enjoyable and more beautiful for the Yerevanians and the guests,” President Serzh Sargsyan said and wished success to the newly elected Mayor, members of the City Council and the staff of the City Hall.