YEREVAN, March 1. /TASS/. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has apologized to the nation for the mistakes of the government, Armenpress reported on Monday.

"I want to apologize to all of you, all Armenian citizens, to all Armenians of the diaspora, to all people in Artsakh (the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic - TASS) for our mistakes," he was quoted as saying during a rally of his supporters in downtown Yerevan on Monday. "I pondered a lot where I went wrong. <…> As a prime minister, as a head of state, I apologize for all the mistakes of the republic’s authorities. But I don’t want to sound regretful, I want it to sound a sign of our resolve that we, Armenian citizens, will never give up in our struggle for free and happy Armenia."

He admitted that sometimes the choice was between bad and worse. He stressed that the nation’s future depends on how the current problems, such as security, foreign and domestic policy challenges, are resolved. "Strange as it might seem, but a key reason for our mistakes was our popularity as a government. We were loved so much that we tried to do everything too ideally. In many cases, the quest for excellence resulted in idleness," Pashinyan said.

More than 10,000 people gathered for a rally in Pashinyan’s support on Monday on Yerevan’s central Republic Square, were the government building is located. After his speech, Pashinyan called on those present to march along the city’s central streets.

Meanwhile, around 10,000 Pashinyan’s opponents gathered for a rally in front of the parliament building in central Yerevan to demand the prime minister’s resignation.