ArmInfo. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan commented for the first time on the dismissal of Economy Minister Vahan Kerobyan, who is currently under house arrest.
"I must say frankly that it is very sad that this personnel change is taking place due to circumstances known to all of us. I can say words of gratitude to Vahan Kerobyan for his work as Minister of Economy, but at the moment I don't want to give any comments in the sense that we know under what circumstances this happened, but we must also be careful not to violate the presumption of innocence of anyone and not have any influence on the results of the investigation," Pashinyan said on March 7 at the Ministry of Economy, introducing new Minister Gevorg Papoyan to the team.
The Prime Minister expressed confidence that the investigation will be complete and objective, and that questions will be answered. According to him, the rule of law is an absolute priority for the Armenian authorities. "I say again, we cannot expect everyone to be impeccable in their actions, but we must pay particular attention to the legality of spending funds belonging to the state and the people," Pashinyan emphasized.
Nikol Pashinyan noted that everyone, even the prime minister, is imperfect in their daily work. But at the same time, encroachments on public funds are unacceptable, he added. "We all understand that there are many objective problems, starting with the system of payment of wages in the public administration system: Once again, we cannot expect that all of us are impeccable in our actions, but we must also be especially careful about the legality of spending funds belonging to the state and the people," he pointed out.
Notably, Kerobyan, who announced his resignation on February 14, is accused of abuse and exceeding official powers in a case of abuse in the Ministry of Economy of Armenia. He does not admit guilt. On February 16, the Anti-Corruption Court in Yerevan sent him under house arrest for a period of two months.