The Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, during the session of the National Assembly, addressed to the question of MP Tigran Urikhanyan regarding the statements made by the Armenia’s third President Serzh Sargsyan’s son-in-law, Armenia’s former Ambassador to the Vatican Mikayel Minasyan.

"I would not ask the question related to the accusations made against you by Mikayel Minasyan, if it wasn’t an accusation, that concerns all of us. If planes with smuggled cargo, with the permission of the government, fly from the Republic of Armenia, fly to friendly Russia, cause problems with friendly Georgia, it will affect your rating. It may not matter to you, but it matters to me, because you are the Prime Minister of my only homeland…when people see me in any country, they can say: this is the deputy from the country of smugglers, " Urikhanyan said, asking Pashinyan if planes were being illegally flying out of Armenia, as Mikayel Minasyan states.

"As for the Armenia’s image as the smuggling country, I think, that those who are worried about that image, should be interested in the criminal case initiated by the State Revenue Committee in connection with Mikayel Minasyan's activities. According to the information I possess, without violating anyone's presumption of innocence, agricultural products, luxury items, construction materials, whatever, under the name of saltpeter were imported to Armenia, by the sponsorship of the person you mentioned, and as a result, the Republic of Armenia suffered a loss of 20 billion drams," Pashinyan explained.

Reffering to the export of tobacco from Armenia, Armenia’s PM assured that at least in the last 5 years nothing has changed in that system.

"If there is a problem there, then the answer to that problem should have been demanded from Mikayel Minasyan's father-in-law Serzh Sargsyan. It’s known, that a smuggled cigarette exported from Armenia was caught in the city or region of Krasnodar. If we turn back the events and examine the actions of the Armenian tax authorities, nothing has changed in those actions, it would be illegal to change anything. Because a person comes and says, that I export cigarettes from Armenia, for example, to Afghanistan and fly to Afghanistan via Russia. That person flies legally. If there is the same load today, it will fly with the same wording. If on the way it lands in Krasnodar, for example, for refueling, but part or all of the cigarettes are unloaded there, the government of the Republic of Armenia has nothing to do with it," Pashinyan assured.

PM also reffered to some questions as to "why don't these corrupt people shut up and calm down". 

"I think they will shut up and calm down as a result of the events of the last days. Let me assure you that they will, because the defense team of the accused involved in the criminal case was provided with information in accordance with the law, by which the accused and his family will know what deep mud they are in, from which they won’t be able to escape. Let's say Serzh Sargsyan, the rest, all of them….old man started to pull the turnip or old man started to pull Mishik, old woman took hold of the old man, granddaughter took hold of the old woman, cat took hold of the  granddaughter and the mouse, the most important, the mouse will pull from the back, is all the same, they’ll not escape, Mr Urikhanyan," Pashinyan concluded.