YEREVAN. – The leaders of all countries are dealing with the issue of canceling visits, and you can see that not only Armenia’s leader has declined from going to Moscow, but also of many countries in the world due to the coronavirus situation. Alen Simonyan, National Assembly (NA) Vice President and member of the majority My Step faction in parliament, stated this in a conversation with journalists after the faction’s meeting Saturday at the central office of the ruling Civil Contract Party, and speaking about Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's statement that he cannot go to Moscow due to the COVID-19 situation.

"I do not agree with a drop [in coronavirus cases in Armenia]; today there have been more than 500 cases. We are hopeful that tomorrow we will have a decline in terms of those numbers, and a solution will be found," he added.

And asked whether PM Pashinyan was asked by Russia to take a coronavirus test upon arrival at Moscow airport, Simonyan responded: "The Prime Minister's Office is dealing with that. I do not have such information, and I cannot answer."

To note, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had informed Russian President Vladimir Putin in a letter that he would not be able to attend the events in Moscow dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War, as "the current epidemic situation does not allow to make that trip."