YEREVAN. - Armenia’s environmental protection minister Aram Harutyunyan does not regret calling environmentalist a “sucker” and promising to “pull his ears,” the minister told reporters on Wednesday. I had to appease bullies and did it, the minister said, Armenian News-NEWS.am reports.

Earlier, on Tuesday, during international conference on responsible mining, Minister Harutyunyan made unflattering statements about environmental activists.

The activists came to the conference hall and accompanied the speeches of Armenia’s government members (the Ministers of energy, economy, and environmental protection) with protesting shouts. This action, Aram Harutyunyan told journalists, provoked him.

“These people were even jumping on the chairs in the conference room. Do you call this normal? I call this bullying. And, like any man, I can’t stand bullies around me,” the minister stressed.

The minister refuses to answer whether he is going to apologize for telling the environmentalist “I’ll pull your ears, you, sucker.” According to Harutyunyan, he acted “in accordance with the situation.”

“If you ask me why I said it, then ask the activists, what did they shout and why did they violate the order,” replied Armenia’s government member.