16:46, 6 April 2023

YEREVAN, APRIL 6, ARMENPRESS. Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan on Thursday apologized to all citizens of Armenia for spitting at a heckler in downtown Yerevan for being called a “traitor.”

“First of all I’d like to thank everyone who supported me during these days and I want to close this topic once and for all, to not allow such everyday topic to continue being circulated alongside the serious issues facing our country.

Indeed, democracy implies that an official must and can be criticized, and why not, provocations could also take place. We must not give in to them. I regret that I lost my temper from the personal insult against me. I am sure that any Armenian with dignity would not have tolerated such an insult, however the high responsibility carried by an elected official must have a restraining role. This is also a lesson for me, because most probably, my team members and I will face such situations in the future as well. This is also a proper occasion for the opposition to revise its rhetoric, its tactic of delivering personal insults and to return to the framework of civilized debate. On this given incident I’d like to apologize to all citizens of the Republic of Armenia,” Simonyan said in a statement.