Gevorg Petrosyan Responds to Alen Simonyan's Statement: 'He Is Not a Political Factor and Never Has Been'

Gevorg Petrosyan, a member of the parliament from the Prosperous Armenia faction, stated in an interview with NEWS.am that he generally avoids commenting on Alen Simonyan because he is not a political factor and has never been.

This remark comes in response to Simonyan, a member of the My Step faction and vice speaker of the National Assembly, who had claimed that a referendum could be held 'anytime if needed.' Petrosyan said, 'To speak frivolously about the government's right to hold a referendum is well beyond his rights. Alen Simonyan has absolutely no connection to the institute of democracy. To say that a referendum can be held anytime simply mocks the concept of popular voting.'

On this occasion, Petrosyan wrote on his Facebook page: 'Yesterday, someone proudly stated from the main podium of the National Assembly with a trembling voice that “if necessary, a referendum can be held anytime.” What can I say about this person tangled in self-deception? If you're going to hold a referendum anytime, what are you waiting for? Why haven’t you been able to get it done these past few months? And what does it even mean to hold a referendum anytime? Someone has deceived him very badly… hey man, the people are not your toy to send to the polling station anytime you like… But I will say again, maybe he’s right… that with his own forces, he can indeed take one person to the polling station at some hour, and it’s certainly not guaranteed that this one person will be voting for him… But what a bad thing blind and irresponsible confidence is…'

In response to Petrosyan’s remarks, Alen Simonyan commented, 'It’s all fine, whatever he wrote is between him and God, but can someone explain why he decided to post a picture of himself standing on a bridge wearing his best polished shoes when writing about me?'

In response to Simonyan's comment regarding his picture, Petrosyan retorted, 'I have taken the photo in one of the beautiful places of Lori region. If he ties his tie in such places to 'cover up' his shortcomings, I have no such issues. As for my shiny shoes, that’s a testament to my cleanliness, of which many are far from today.'

We also inquired about Petrosyan's decision not to wear a mask in the parliament. The Prosperous Armenia MP responded, 'I have said and will repeat, I will not wear it, regardless of what this decision may cost me.'