11:09,
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan says the manipulations around his latest statement on November 15 are “absolutely inappropriate”.
“Understandably we are all rather tense now,” he said at an online press conference on November 16.”Regarding my yesterday’s statement I can say that a number of reactions showed how manipulative mechanisms are put to action especially during this period of tension. What did I say in that statement, I said ‘I am waiting for you in Yerevan’”, the PM said, referring to his statement addressed to servicemen at the frontline. “This sentence gave grounds to many to say that allegedly it contains calls for civil war and clashes. If our dearest countrymen pay attention, after the well-known events one can see even on the internet that many of these servicemen are being demobilized and are returning to their families, and many of these people, groups and detachments are addressing messages to me, saying they want to meet me, and I found it necessary to publicly respond to them, saying that I will organize a meeting with them and we will discuss issues with them,” the PM said.
Speaking about the last sentence of his statement, he said that it contains a rather harsh terming, but that this terming was used yesterday also by official bodies.
“I wrote – ‘to finally solve the issues of those whining under walls’. Sure, this is a rather harsh terming, but taking into account that even official bodies use this phrase in their statements, I used it. This means that after the return of the frontline troops and during the conversation with them I will finally close the talks which are actively being generated, which allege that the Armenian military-political leadership has been involved in some kind of a conspiracy and so on. Who else if not the frontline troops know the answer to this question? It is very important for me to talk with these men, to hear their assessments,” Pashinyan said.
Pashinyan stressed that none of the troops is returning with their weapons, and that he has had a discussion with the Military Police Chief in order to rule out such cases.
“In this situation I find the manipulations regarding my yesterday’s statement to be absolutely inappropriate. I believe that the demobilized troops, the soldiers who are returning from the frontline are also entitled to have their opinion, and I don’t believe there is anything condemnable that they want to meet with me. They are the ones who bear the truth about the events, and if it turns out that a conspiracy has happened, then let those guilty be punished,” the PM said.
He said that in no way can the country’s leader call for civil war or clashes, and stressed that the law enforcement agencies have all opportunities to prevent potential clashes.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan