YEREVAN. – In an interview with Armenian News-NEWS.am’s reporter, Armenia’s National Center for Oncology Director Hayrapet Galstyan denied the news disseminated in the press that the Center purchased the Justice Ministry’s Prisoners’ Hospital of the capital Yerevan.

“As this Center’s director and the Republic’s Chief oncologist, I first hear about this from you,” Galstyan noted. In his words, aside from the Center for Oncology, they have no other place and do not intend to acquire one.    

“The state is funding us, and we are trying to carry out our duties along the lines of this funding. The amounts allocated to us are barely enough, and we exceed the amounts allocated to us. We have financial difficulties at the end of each year,” Hayrapet Galstyan said, adding that the Center’s annual budget is 810 million drams (US$ 2,117,520). “We have no money to supply medicine to the patients. How can we allocate 5,600,000,000 drams ($14,639,645) to purchase other places?”, Galstyan argued.    

To note, for the past several days, there is talk about the selling of Armenian Justice Ministry’s Prisoners’ Hospital, in the capital Yerevan, Aravot daily wrote. “To find the answer to our questions, Justice Ministry’s Penitentiary Department spokesperson Gor Ghlechyan advised us to get acquainted with this year’s decision by the Government. According to this decision, the complex and land of the Prisoners’ Hospital is valued at no less than 5,600,000,000 drams ($14,639,645). It became apparent that the buyer was the Health Ministry’s National Center for Oncology,” Aravot wrote.