If we do not get out of this situation, we are really in the abyss. Gagik Tsarukyan—chairman of the opposition Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP), MP, and business tycoon—stated this in Ararat Province—and referring to the situation in the country.
"People taking care of 120,000 families did not go to work abroad, those who work for a daily wage do not work, today the turnover has decreased. The state must subsidize and repay the loans of the people for a year. Today, the state has increased its national debt by 1 billion 400 million, has neither created jobs nor has granted forgiveness to the [loan] interests of the people. The state can petition to the World Bank, bring 1 billion [dollars], and distribute it to the people; they should give at least $2,000 to each family so people can spend their winter. If the condition of my people is not good, the condition of my children will not be good either," said Tsarukyan. He added that the problems accumulated in Armenia should be resolved, as the country is not a testing ground.
Tsarukyan touched also upon the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) conflict, noting that the issue of international recognition of the Artsakh Republic should be raised in the negotiations. "You do not know exactly what was agreed on the Artsakh issue, what was discussed, saying 'We are consulting, we are drinking coffee.' C'mon! Our priority is the issue of international recognition of Karabakh's independence. The people of Karabakh have settled this issue, Karabakh has been independent for 30 years, [and] the issue of [its] international recognition remains," Gagik Tsarukyan said.
