“If the authorities bought weapons, let them show it”: Aparan residents on the growth of external public debt

One of the reasons for the growth of Armenia’s external public debt is the purchase of weapons. This was stated several months ago in the National Assembly by RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, in response to opposition criticism.

“We are constantly told that the external debt has increased by 8 billion, and asked what we did with such a sum. Don’t you know what we did? I didn’t want to say it, but I will: we bought weapons. We bought weapons on credit. Yes, we bought weapons on credit. Why? Because we needed a lot, and all at once,” the prime minister said.

Residents of the city of Aparan shared their views on Pashinyan’s statement during a street poll: “They have lied so much that we don’t believe anything anymore. If they bought weapons, let them show it.”

According to poll participants, all people ever hear is that the authorities bought this or that, yet no meaningful changes are visible in the country: neither pensions nor salaries are rising in any significant way.

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