Robert Kocharian on Pensioners

The decision by the Armenian authorities to raise pensions was political; they chose to increase pensions without allocating the corresponding funds in the budget. This was announced by Armenia's second president and the Prime Minister candidate from the "Armenia" alliance, Robert Kocharian, during a meeting with residents of Masis.

According to Robert Kocharian, the average pension in Armenia increased sixfold during his presidency. "If your economy is developing, you create those opportunities. There will certainly be no backtracking. This is stated in our more comprehensive and programmatic provisions. There will be a more significant increase, not as an electoral campaign tactic; to be frank, they have misled people, and the essence of our program is precisely that. Do not doubt that there will be no retreat here. On the contrary, there will be steps forward, and several steps at that," he emphasized.

Robert Kocharian noted that a 10,000 dram increase in pensions cannot even be considered such, as it does not cover inflation. "Compensating for inflation is the state's obligation. But it is presented as a major gift. It is not a gift. It is your duty. You should have done this long ago. Every year, pensions should be indexed according to inflation," he stated.