VIDEO. This is the last time I will address this issue: Alen Simonian

I do not have an armored vehicle, I am not accompanied by three cars, and that vehicle is not worth $200,000; it is worth less. This was stated by the Speaker of the National Assembly, Alen Simonian, while answering a citizen's question regarding the purchase of an expensive vehicle from the budget during a broadcast on 'Freedom'.

'Living in a world of distorted mirrors and the speculation associated with my name, which has become fashionable now, must stop at some point. Everything I hear about myself has become a topic of numerous jokes in our circle of friends. Somewhere I am building a building, and everyone is confident that it is my building; somewhere I am sponsoring something. All of this has nothing to do with reality. That is not my choice; I am not buying a car, I do not drive a car, I do not have that opportunity, and I often have no connection to those decisions. There are criteria that must be considered when accompanying senior officials, such as speed and vehicle maneuverability, etc. I am not accompanied by three cars, the state has certain protocols; I try to refuse almost everything that the law does not prohibit us from. The car serving me is not armored; had it been armored, its price would be about $550,000. In the past, there were armored vehicles; I have rejected the idea of armor. This is the saving that the National Assembly has made and used for other expenses allocated for itself,' he said.

Simonian stated that after becoming a public official, the quality of his life has deteriorated, and his freedom has been limited. He wants to ride a bike but cannot; he tried once and saw that security personnel were watching him, and he had to stop.

When asked whether the three cars purchased with the 54 million dram allocated from the budget do not accompany his vehicle, Alen Simonian said, 'I am not accompanied by three cars; one is for the National Assembly, and two are for security personnel.'

In response to the remark that two cars, in other words, accompany him, Simonian said, 'They are escorting the car I am in because they cannot not escort it. To solve current issues, I have put my safety aside and rejected the armored vehicle worth $550,000. Since the existing vehicle was causing significant costs, we decided to buy a new one. In other words, if we had not purchased a new vehicle, it would have been much more expensive for the budget, and it would have turned out that we were making unnecessary expenses,' the Speaker of the National Assembly said.