Papoyan Addresses Gas Price Hike Rumors

There are no issues related to gas prices, and Nikol Pashinyan is the only leader under whom gas prices have not increased. During the tenure of all previous leaders who were supposedly close to Russia, gas prices have risen. This was stated today, May 22, by the Minister of Economy Gevorg Papoyan during a conversation with reporters at a campaign event of the ruling Civil Contract party in Nor Nork.

Regarding Nikol Pashinyan’s accusations towards the people of Artsakh, who did not suffer casualties or injuries during the war, Papoyan commented: "This episode pertains to certain individuals. Immediately after the war started, the Karabakh elite, who have plundered the people of Karabakh the most, jumped into their SUVs and fled to Armenia. There was a long line of expensive SUVs; there were no casualties in that procession, just a convoy of vehicles. They fled here, sat in cafes, leaving the people and our soldiers behind. Today, Nikol Pashinyan is referring directly to these individuals. Now, they are suggesting we sit in cafes in Yerevan, in our SUVs, while these kids go off to fight and possibly die. What moral right do you have? Who are you, you vile person, to run away and tell others why they don’t sacrifice themselves?"

Papoyan declared: "We will be here for peace; they will come, it will be war. The guarantee of this is that there have been no shots fired at the borders of Armenia for 2.5 years. Only in times of peace can all issues, including the issue of prisoners, be resolved. Those who say otherwise merely want to increase the number of graves because only by increasing the count of graves can they buy new SUVs, purchase new houses on Northern Avenue, or open new cafes in the Cascade. We say no, that’s not going to happen, enough is enough; for 30 years you’ve fed off the people, isn't it a sin against this people?"

Addressing the criticism that members of the ruling party did not go to the front lines during the war and did not sacrifice themselves, Papoyan stated: "The soldier sitting back to back with Nikol Pashinyan’s son died in the trench. Are you dreaming that if he had moved just 10 centimeters this way... Those people want that. Nikol Pashinyan sent his son to the most dangerous place. We are saying, no one should die; they say we should sit in a cafe in Cascade, sip coffee, and let others go to die. For this, they will be held accountable; they will not surpass the passing threshold, and we will see how many votes we get."

Regarding the statement by Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu about Armenia undertaking a series of actions that Moscow views as unfriendly, Papoyan said: "Certain officials from Russia have always made statements that do not correspond to the status of Armenian-Russian allied relations and the level of relations between the leaders of Armenia and Russia, as well as the content of their conversations."