YEREVAN. – You know how the official position is expressed and by whom. Alen Simonyan, the National Assembly (NA) vice speaker and member of the My Step ruling bloc of Armenia, on Wednesday told this to reporters in the NA, referring to the controversial statement by My Step MP Hovik Aghazaryan that, "Is there a bold person in Armenia who can tell the world that Kelbajar [in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh)] was ours?"

Simonyan added that he considers the whole region, which is called "Armenian World," as his homeland.

To the question why during PM Nikol Pashinyan's recent visit to Armavir Province the residents were promised to asphalted roads—that is, something for which they used to criticize the previous authorities—, the NA vice speaker said: "Because those we were criticizing never did that asphalt; they were doing it only before the elections. The current authorities have done more asphalt in the last two years than the previous authorities—in five to ten years.

As for the visit, it was a regular visit, the prime minister has always been in contact with the citizens. Many were accusing the prime minister of traveling around Armenia with a police barricade, and when the prime minister goes, meets with the people, we find another alternative to manipulate. I am happy with one thing: I have visited two provinces with the prime minister, and those people understand everything very well and give their assessment; this is not the government that makes asphalt only before an election."

In response to the remark that the aforesaid creates an unlevel playing field between the political forces, Alen Simonyan noted that today the incumbent Armenian authorities were in the most unlevel playing field. "The [Armenian] government does not have the financial resources and their opportunities that the opposition has today. Today, the opposition is several times richer and more competitive in terms of its strength, its resources than the current government team," he said.