I Fully Accept Your Agenda: Prime Minister's Response to Auroranews Urgent Questions

Auroranews posed a question to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during a press conference: “There is a well-known saying about the knife reaching the bone. Today, the knife is already cutting through the bone. In 2024, $18 billion (17.3 trillion dram) worth of bets have been placed in our country. This means that all your initiatives, such as advertising bans and others, have been futile. People continue to gamble. Why do you not prohibit gambling activities in Armenia, as it threatens national security and the survival of the nation? The survival of the nation is at risk.”

Auroranews's next question was: “A few weeks ago, Los Angeles was burning. During the days of the fire, the air pollution index in that city was at a green level. Meanwhile, for years and months, the air pollution level in Yerevan shows that it is hazardous to life. There are so many people visiting medical centers that it seems like a hot protest has been declared. What will you do?”

Pashinyan responded, “Regarding the issue of air quality, I have instructed, and a working group has been formed. It may not have been formally established, but I mean that there is no prime ministerial decree; however, I have given an instruction for the Deputy Prime Minister, the Ministry of Environment, and the Yerevan City Hall to work very intensively. There was a significant influx of letters regarding this issue, and I sincerely admit that I learned about this problem from those letters, even though it’s not like I breathe different air in Yerevan.”

As for the betting activities, Pashinyan stated that they will not be banned because it is a form of activity. “We acknowledge your alarm; I fully accept your raised agenda. You cannot imagine how much this concerns me,” the Prime Minister said. More details are available in the video.