President: In Armenia problems are not settled through brutal force and hostage taking - this situation continues longer than we can afford

The standoff in Yerevan after a group of armed veterans of the Karabakh war seized the Police Patrol Service Regiment continues longer than we can afford.  President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan made such statement at today's meeting with the heads of the law- enforcement agencies over the standoff and hostage situation in Yerevan. 
"In Armenia, issues are not settled through brutal force and hostage taking. We will never let it happen," the president said urging the armed group to show restraint and do not endanger the lives of others by their provocative actions. "The hostages must be released and the armed group must put down arms," he said adding that in Armenia there are many discontented people, but no one should think that he can use the situation to shake the foundations of the statehood. 
Afterwards, the president charged the law-enforcement to show restraint during further counter-measures and act within the law. 
"We continue taking efforts for peaceful resolution of the situation. I once again urge the armed group to put down arms. We are acting and will continue acting tolerantly. We do care for the lives and health of our citizens. We did not resort to the measures considered classical for such situations. We gave a chance to the armed group to retreat. I hope they will change their mind. However, we have no right to let our public become a hostage to such tense situation. I think this situation continues longer than we can afford. Little time has past since April of the current year for our public to forget about what happened in the Karabakh conflict zone. I call everyone to show restraint and reasonability for the welfare of Armenia and the future of our country. Armenia is experiencing hard and responsible times. I will not be speaking about the reason of it now. It is not the right time to do it. All of us should learn lessons from this. We must do our best to resolve this heavy situation and avoid further tragedies. The practice of settling issues through violence and force is very dangerous and fraught with irrecoverable consequences for our country and statehood. A solution to this situation will become an important test for our public and country. Further measures to resolve the situation will be exclusively in conformity with the Constitution and the laws of Armenia. All the attempts of personal revenge will be prevented by the law. I call on all our citizens to exercise their political and civil rights within the law and not to yield to provocations. It is fraught with more casualties," the president said.