Alen Simonyan Issues a Statement

The President of the National Assembly, Alen Simonyan, has issued a statement.

“Dear compatriots, friends. Considering that the incident that occurred with me in the street continues to be discussed, I want to respond.

First, I want to thank all the people who have stood by me during these days and I want to definitively close this conversation, not allowing such trivial matters to circulate alongside serious issues facing our country.

Yes, democracy implies that an official can and should be criticized, and provocations can also occur. Our task is to not give in to them. I regret that I lost my composure due to personal insults directed at me. I am certain that no dignified Armenian person would tolerate such an insult; however, the high responsibility placed on an elected official should have a restraining effect.

This is also a lesson for me, as it is likely that I and other representatives of our team will face similar situations in the future.

Additionally, this serves as a proper opportunity for the political opposition to reconsider its rhetoric, its strategy of personal insults, and to return to the realm of civilized debate.

In connection with this incident, I want to apologize to all CITIZENS of the Republic of Armenia.

It should be noted that a few days ago, citizen Karen Mkrtchyan reported on his Facebook page that the President of the National Assembly, Alen Simonyan, instructed his bodyguards to grab him and spit on him after Karen called Alen Simonyan a traitor. Alen Simonyan later did not deny the incident in a Facebook post.