YEREVAN. – The circle of beneficiaries of the Insurance Foundation for Servicemen has been determined at the times when, as you say, you had close relations with the authorities. The Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, on Thursday morning stated this during his talk with the mothers of fallen soldiers, and addressing chairperson Margarita Khachatryan of the coordinating board of the “Zinvor (Soldier)” NGO. 

“I don’t recall that you had had such a meeting with, for example, [former President] Serzh Sargsyan, former prime ministers or presidents, and you would have made such emphases; this is strange to me,” Pashinyan said. “At the time you had had all the chances [for this]. Why haven’t you come at the time, sit in front of the government [building, like now]?” 

Khachatryan responded that at that time the government had not allocated 30mn drams to the relatives of the victims of the tragic events that occurred in capital city Yerevan in March 2008. She added that in the past, the government had funded their organization from the off-budget of the defense ministry, and she herself was giving this money—in an envelope—to the parents of the fallen soldiers.

“That is, it’s about funding your organization,” the PM replied. “Today the foundation gives the victim’s parent 10mn [dram] lump sum. Do you want them to give that money to you in an envelope?

“Don’t create a climate in which the government thinks that it’s better let’s leave the old situation that it be equally bad for everyone, rather than they think about resolving the problems! We will resolve all matters by expanding and improving the operations of the budget and the Insurance Foundation for Servicemen.

“It’s not you who has brought this matter to the agenda; I have brought it, and I will go on consistently resolving those matters.”