Parliament speaker: Armenia national anthem should be changed sooner or later

It is obvious to me that the [national] anthem of the Republic of Armenia must be changed sooner or later, it must be Armenian, have a connection with our state and Armenian music, and be in accordance with the rules of the anthem. Alen Simonyan, speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia, wrote this on Telegram.

"I do not insist that it should be replaced by the great [Armenian composer] Aram Khachaturian’s music, which, in my opinion, is magnificent, unsurpassed and maximally Armenian, but it is obvious that changing the existing foreign-born anthem is a necessity.

"In my opinion, we should discuss as well the matter of changing the coat of arms [of Armenia]. At least, Armenia cannot be under water, which was a punishment for humanity, the lion cannot be like a Facebook smiley, the sword protecting Armenia cannot be chained," added the speaker of the Armenian parliament.