The issue regarding Vitaly Balasanyan’s statements is within the domain of law-enforcement authorities, and as you know, the National Security Service of Armenia is already investigating the case. This is what Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan told journalists following the government session today, adding that if he had to respond to Balasanyan today, he would still refer to him as “a hooligan”.

When Grigoryan was reminded that he had been seen dining with Balasanyan and is now referring to him as “a hooligan”, Armen Grigoryan said the following: “If you’re asking me that question, you should ask him first because he has also dined with the Prime Minister. He is the first one who gave an interview and talked about the topics.”

When told that his response might cause tension between Armenia and Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic), Grigoryan said there can’t be such developments. He also touched upon the reminder that Vitaly Balasanyan is a hero and said the following: “The public has been talking about this for a long time now. This is being discussed in the context of Vitaly Balasanyan and other figures. I also made a contribution during the revolution in Armenia, but does this mean I have the right to allow myself to do things that I shouldn’t do? I don’t think so.”

As reported earlier, on October 8, Major-General Vitaly Balasanyan gave an interview to Livenews.am and particularly declared that there was usurpation of power in Armenia in 2018 and that Nikol Pashinyan is an executor.

“Nikol Pashinyan’s policy is leading Armenia and Artsakh to perdition. The authorities need to resign and voluntarily show up at the Special Investigation Service,” Balasanyan said, stressing the fact that Armenia is usurped and that Artsakh will show resistance to this.

Touching upon the recent meeting of Zhirayr Sefilyan and Garegin Chugaszyan with Nikol Pashinyan, Balasanyan said Nikol Pashinyan is trying to terrorize everyone, including himself and people like him.

In his turn, Secretary of the Security Council Armen Grigoryan responded to Vitaly Balasanyan’s statements and stated that he is behaving like a hooligan, not Artsakh’s presidential candidate.